A Day Worth Waiting For
by 03JTunice
Summary: Sorcerer Weekly is ready to have its first debut after Fairy Tail won the GMG! And who do they call? MiraJane and any partner of her choice of course who happens to be Natsu! But turns out she can't go... so Erza took her place! The photo shot is only days away with tension rising between the two. Will Natsu cope with Erza's rash behavior? Will Jason ever shut up?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wazzup people! Tunis is back with another story! In all honesty, I had this idea for months but never thought I would put it down on a virtual piece of paper with a bunch of 1's and 0's. I plan to update Satan Salamander and FireEater since it has been a month and I won't break my promises. Anyway, that's the end of this and hopefully I'll see you later.** **Onto the story!**

 **Today was the Day**

It was a joyous day for the Fairy Tail guild. They had just come back from the King's castle a week ago and partied ever since to celebrate their triumph over the time-traveling Dragons. Beer jugs were clinking, insults(as well as people) were being thrown across the room, chairs were being broken over a guild mate's head and the occasional magic spell being cast as well. All this happiness, comradery and fun-party-time was shrouding the atmosphere, but the one person you think would be at the center of it all was dreading this day to his core. That person was no other than Natsu, Natsu Dragneel.

He was brooding in the corner with his blue partner by his side. He didn't barge through the guild doors like he usually did, this time it was Elfman that did it. He didn't start his daily fight with Gray the ice bastard, Gajeel did. He didn't eat his flaming steak and burning whiskey for breakfast today, actually, no one did 'cause they can't, but you get my point. For Natsu, he wanted to stay away from the bar today- no, away from the guild. Today was something he dreaded since a few days ago. And it's obvious that it was Mira's fault.

She tricked him. Plain and simple. Sorcerer Weekly wanted to have MiraJane back in the picture, but to make it even more "fantastic", the asshole Jason said to bring one of her closest male friends to take the picture with her to show Fairy Tail was back in business. She could have picked Elfman, fuckin' Laxus, god damned Gray, that bastard Gajeel- hell, even freaking Max could have been a candidate. But no, it had to be him she said. You're my closest "boy friend" she says. I can't do this without you, she says. And knowing how Natsu was, she hit the bullseye. He went on a guilt trip when he tried to refuse her and Happy even helped him fight through it, but those damned puppy eyes got him to the core.

He unfortunately and reluctantly agreed to the picture shooting and left Mira, mumbling about how friendship can be deceiving and some other some shit. And today was the day. He would have to ride a dastardly train and suffer through the annoying bitch-ass Jason the reporter.

You see, Natsu actually never hated the picture shooting; he did them all the time and thought they were fun. What he just absolutely loathed and hated were the people working there. Specifically Jason. That guy… Natsu couldn't even describe his obnoxiousness in words but he wanted to rip his ears off every time he heard "cool" roll off his tongue(he also wanted to rip Jason's lips off too). He also hated some of the snobby people working there; their voices were so irritating and the way they spoke was like they were better than everyone(except Jason, he was too fanboyish for Natsu) they sat on their director's chair looking at everyone like ants. But those were only some.

Others were really nice to the people around them(Jason was one of them, he just talks way too much) including the people they were going to take a photo with. It seemed like they really liked their job. But today was not the day to go there. Oh no, no. Today had to be the worst possible day to go. Right now, up on the job selection board, was a high-paying, monster slaughtering, adventure-filled quest wanting to be answered, by him. But he didn't want to flake on Mira and come back only to see her crying and knowing that it was his fault. Never, not even in his dreams, want to see his friends cry. It was heartbreaking, especially if he knew he could have stopped it.

Natsu shook his head to get rid of the thought. He just had to wait for Mira to come and be prepared for the worst.

"Hey Natsu, I know you really want to ditch this so why did you even accept it?" Happy asked, gnawing on his fish. Natsu didn't answer, all he did was shake his head.

"You wouldn't understand Happy." Natsu said, putting his elbow on the table and bringing his hand up to lay his head down.

"Aye, yes I do!" Happy said cheerfully, "It's 'cause you wove ver!" Happy started to wrap his arms around himself and made smooching noises with his lips, "Kissy Kissy choo!"

"Shut it Happy," Natsu easily flicked Happy on the forehead making him topple over, "Where did you even learn that? I'm sure I never did it."

"It's from mama Lisanna!" Happy chimed, getting up from the table he fell on and climbing ontop of Natsu's shoulder, "So, when do you think she's coming?"

"Pff, the hell should I know. Ya know how long girls take to "pamper" up. It's like for eternity." Natsu sighed and closed his eyes, wanting all of this to be a dream, but his eyes shot open again when he smelled something familiar walk in the building. 'Mira…'

"Oh, Natsu! There you are!"

"Here she comes." Happy informed.

"I know, just stay quiet and please don't embarrass me… again." Natsu sweatdropped when he said this.

"Hey Natsu, I have something to tell you. It's very important." Mira reached them at the corner of the guild with a smile. Natsu, however, kept his small frown and got up, towing his bag in back of him.

"I know, I know, don't beat up the photographer, don't destroy the cameras, don't threaten people that annoy me, don't cause explosions in public and make sure to have a big happy smile at the shooting." Natsu turned back and showed his very fake smile that he forced on and then continued walking sluggishly. That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder that caused him to stop.

"Natsu, that's not what I was going to say," Mira said calmly, resting her hand on Natsu's shoulder as he turned to her curiously, "Something came up that caused me to have to cancel so you won't have to be going with me."

The frown just got turned upside down in Natsu's case as his infamous joyful smile was suddenly plastered on his face, "Yahoo!" He screamed he joy, jumping up and down, "Ya hear that Happy!"

"Aye Sir! Monster quest here we come!" Happy sprouted his wings and flew happily in circles over Natsu's head, like a halo.

There joy only caused Mira to laugh as well, "Hehehehe, I never knew you two would be so excited to work with Erza."

Silence!

"Hahahaha, did I hear you right Mira? 'Cause, ya know, it kinda sounded like you said work with Erza. Am I right Happy, hahaha!" Natsu laughed nervously along with Happy as their frantic cheerful movements were put to an end.

"Hahahaha, Aye, Natsu, you're right. She totally didn't say work with Erza. Ha...ha...ha...ha…" Happy's false accusation came tumbling down when he looked at Mira's unfaltering face that still had a smile.

"Oh, how funny! You guys had it all wrong! I said I wasn't going to go with you, so I had Erza take my place. She agreed when I said it was a partner shot with you." Mira cleared up the misunderstand with a bright smile of how silly those two are. Both Natsu and Happy paled at this revelation.

"No… this can't be real…" Natsu said in disbelief, suddenly appearing in the corner with Happy by his side. There was a dark atmosphere surrounding the two as devastation was evident on Natsu's face.

"Hold me, Natsu." Happy said in fear, rocking back and forth terrified.

"Oh, man up you two. It's just Erza, what's gotten on to you, Natsu?" Mira asked baffled. That's when she heard the doors swing open and turned to see who it was, "Ah, here she is. Erza just came through."

Natsu felt as if his body was being bombarded with needles as his body stiffened, "I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go… Igneel, please, travel through that time traveling gate and save me!"

"Seriously, Natsu? You're the one who destroyed it anyway." Mira deadpanned looking at him with a bit of pity. That pity was quickly discarded though, as she called Erza over, "Hey Erza, Natsu is over here!"

"No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No…" Natsu rambled on, trying his best to scoot back further but the damn wall was in his way.

"Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish, Carla, Fish…" Happy eventually hid behind his partner's head and clutched tightly to his hair, his claws bearing deep in Natsu's scalp. Causing it to bleed a little.

"Ah, Mira, thank you for that. I don't think I would have ever found him without your help." Erza said thankfully, walking up to her with her usually armor and a small smile.

'Yeah, no kidding.' Mira said sarcastically as she looked at the knocked out bodies of her guildmates. 'She must have gone to work quickly to look for Natsu.'

"Now, let's us be on our way, Natsu." Erza walked up to the petrified boy and started to drag him along with Happy and his luggage. But, with Happy realizing something, suddenly jumped off of Natsu and walked away plainly to another table.

"Wha! Happy, buddy, what's goin' on!?" Natsu screamed betrayed.

"I don't wanna die Natsu!" Happy answered back, "I realized that I'm not the one who has to take the photo shoot so you're on your own!"

The whole guild sweat dropped at how easily Happy dropped his partner when things looked bad.

"Come on Natsu, I know you can walk by yourself, " Erza sighed when she realized he already passed out from something she didn't really know. 'Must have been sick 'cause his face is all white.' "Okay, I guess I'll do this once for you Natsu."

She stopped suddenly and flipped Natsu over on her back. Then, threw his luggage on the back of her mountain of supplies. Erza walked over the handle of the giant wagon and towed it to the train. While carrying Natsu on her back. She knew that luggage was going to get on the train even though the conductor always complains about the amount. Somehow, he always complies when she peacefully negotiated things out. What a nice man.

They both got to the train station with Natsu still being unconscious and carried by Erza as she walked over to train and began to give the tickets to the conductor to check. Erza was about to bring to the luggage on board to but was stopped by the same man.

"I'm sorry ma'am but once again, you can' bring that many supplies on board. It's unnecessary- " That's when he saw it. The unconscious boy on her back with a bleeding head that seemed to have fear embedded on his face like an everlasting scar, "Oh, nevermind, you free to go. Just bring it on with you and we'll take it onto an entirely new cart, just for you ma'am!" The man was visibly sweating but Erza never paid attention to that, she was just thinking about how kind the man was to do that.

"Thank you sir. Please but careful with my things, they're very important." Erza said as she walked on the train with Natsu on her back.

"Of course! We'll do it very carefully!" The man continuously bowed as she walked on the train and sat down and immediately started to pull the wagon to a vacant space on the train.

Erza smiled again at the man as she laid Natsu down on her lap, combing his hair with her fingers. You know, the usual, "It's a good thing he's already passed out. Now he doesn't have to go through his motion sickness." She said with a smile at the end. The train's engine roared at this time with its whistle blowing steam showing that it was departing. She felt the vehicle move with the propellers motioning the wheels and continued to comb the pink hair on Natsu's head as Erza looked at the window and the passing scenery.

When she first heard of Mira's first debut in Sorcerer's Weekly after seven years, she was proud that her friend took back the title of best model after the grand magic games. Erza has always wondered what it was like to pose and model for a couple of cameras for others entertainment. In her opinion, it didn't look very hard, but Mira always dismissed that accusation saying it was more difficult that it seemed. That raised her curiosity even more; she was up for a challenge anytime. So, as the days passed and Mira got ready for the photo shot, Erza heard from her that she wouldn't be able to go because she promised her siblings some time off after the games.

Erza completely understood but asked how she was going to attend the photo shoot for Sorcerer's Weekly. The next thing she heard shocked her to no end. Mira proposed to the producers that Erza "Titania" Scarlet was going to fill in for her. She felt the excitement build up within her as her fan-girlishness was showing a little in front of Mira as she just laughed. That's also when she heard from her that Natsu she suggested to them that Natsu was going to go. Erza remembered back and realized that Natsu has done a couple of these things too- though, not as much as Mira- it was rare that he ever did these things, but Erza figured that Mira tricked him somehow.

And today was the day that Erza did her very first ever Sorcerer's Weekly photo shot that she has been waiting with anxiety for days. A total opposite of how Natsu feels about this thing.

 **A/N: Nothing much to say except that I hope the people reading this check out my other awesome stories on my profile! Share, follow, review or do whatever!**

 **Have a nice time reading**


	2. Chapter 2

**Today wasn't That Bad**

 **Edit: I just realized that title was messed up. My bad... (it's kinda embarrassing)**

"Ugh… where am I? Happy, Mira?" Natsu groggily woke up when he felt his stomach turn and flip as if he was on a train that suddenly stopped. He sat up from a surprisingly comfy pillow he never knew he had and yawned. ' _I guess Happy went and bought new ones.'_ Natsu thought, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes, "Welp, best go get ready for Mira's photo shoot with-"

"How was your nap, Natsu?"

Natsu didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want his nightmare to be true… but, the voice he heard confirmed it.

"E-Erza…?"

"Yes, it's me. Come on, we have to go," Erza sat up from her spot on the chair and forcefully made Natsu stand up, "We're going to miss our stop if you don't hurry up." As Erza helped Natsu out of the train, he sighed heavily.

' _I guess this is how it's gonna be…'_ Natsu thought wistfully. After hearing the news that Erza was going with him instead of Mira, he wanted to pee himself. It's not that he didn't like Erza… it's because she can be exhausting to deal with. With Mira, he would be able to get through this thing in a jiffy. But Erza was new to this, he would have to then act like a mentor of some sort which he certainly didn't like.

Although, all the thought put in that claim went out of Natsu's head the minute they exited the doors, "Mother Earth, oh how I love you so!" Natsu yelled cheerfully, kissing the ground eccentrically, "Sometimes I wish I was glued to you!"

"I'm glad you met your soulmate Natsu but now we have to go. Turns out the photo shoot for the magazine is in Akane resort and the check-ins are almost closed." Erza took charge and lifted Natsu up from the ground and as said person clearly saw the sparkles that shone in her eyes.

"Really, Akane resort? I've never been there for this shit." Natsu said plainly, getting a slap on the head from Erza.

"Watch your language."

"Aye, sir!"

"I'm a woman."

"A-aye ma'am!"

"Good."

The duo of powerful mages then left the station and headed to the resort, one with a smile and the other with sweat dripping down his face. Even though Natsu was abnormally scared of Erza, he didn't mind being around her alone… with none of his other friends to help him from dying soon… Okay, he did mind, but all the fear he had left his being when he got a good glimpse of her bright smile that she rarely ever showed. If staying with her and doing this kind of stuff makes Erza happy, Natsu didn't mind enduring it at all.

"Akane resort, here we come!" Natsu yelled excitedly as he roughly and unexpectedly grabbed Erza's wrist, running his way through the city with his red-haired friend behind.

"W-what, Natsu! Just what do you think you're doing!?" Erza said with an unseen blush as she was literally being towed by Natsu at high speeds.

"Let's go Erza! Last one there's a dirty, crushed, smelly, rotten egg that has to do anything the winner says!" Natsu yelled enthusiastically, still pulling Erza behind him until she suddenly began to run with him while he let his own hand go.

"You're going to regret this!" Erza yelled as she slowly began to get in front of Natsu, "I'm going to have you buy me all the cake I want!"

"Well you're gonna buy me all the flaming steak I want, Erza!" Natsu slowly but surely got closer to Erza as it went back and forth with the pair yelling what they're going to have the other do when they win. It, of course, ended in a tie but with neither of them wanting to admit the fact.

"Ya totally know I won this, right?" Natsu said walking to the registration desk at the very luxurious hotel room. They made it to their destination in a very short time thanks to their running, in fact, it wasn't even sunset yet and they had time to spare after the registrations.

"Ha, you're kidding! We both know I won." Erza said with a triumphant smile as the two made it to the desk with the lady there looking at them weirdly.

"Like hell you did, if I didn't win then it had to be a tie, no other option." Natsu said in finality while Erza just scoffed and was about to have a comeback but the registration lady in front of them had other plans.

"Um, excuse me, but are you two here for something or not?" She asked in annoyance because it seemed like she didn't even exist(did anyone catch the pun). This was when Erza fixed her stature and presented herself correctly.

"I'm sorry. We're here to get our hotel rooms." Erza said in her usual stern and ready commanding voice as a little blush hit her face from embarrassment.

"Yeah, just check the list under Sorcerer's Weekly, you'll find Natsu "Salamander" Dragneel and Erza "Titania" Scarlet." Natsu said with a happy grin, smiling joyfully at the cute face Erza made when she's bashful.

"Ah, yes, I see. You can go in your room 425. Here are your keys," The lady said impatiently. She unlocked a drawer in front of her and took out two keys to said room number, "The resort has been renovated, so the way the hotels are set has changed. The first number indicates the floor and the other two represent the actual room. If that's all you can leave now."

"Thanks a bunch lady!" Natsu said happily while Erza took the keys, walking away with Natsu. After getting a good distance away from the front suite of the resort, Erza swiftly knocked Natsu on the head, looking at him with disapproval.

"It's rude to say that to someone when you don't know them." Erza said sternly as they got onto a magic elevator.

"Well, I'm sorry if that's the case. Just warn me not to say it next time, geez," Natsu pouted while rubbing his sore head, "Anyway, I can't wait to see my room. I bet it's gonna be awesome since the lady said they just made things better!"

"It was a renovation Natsu. That doesn't necessarily mean that things are made better. But… the lady did say room 425… does that mean we share a room?" Erza asked suddenly, putting a finger under her lip.

"Hmm, probably, I don't care really. I can sleep on the couch or floor if you're uncomfortable." Natsu said shrugging his shoulders as the doors of the elevator opened to their floor.

"Really Natsu, we bathed together, I pretty sure I can handle sleeping on a bed with you." Erza said definitively.

"Okay, suit yourself. Happy has told me that I'm a heavy sleeper." Natsu warned with a small smile forming on his face. They walked down the hall in a silence, waiting to see their room number. It wasn't long until they did and Erza stopped the both of them, taking out the keys.

"Oh, well this is new. These keys and locks seem much more secure." Erza said impressed as she looked at both items with curiosity.

"Eh, what do you mean?" Natsu asked dumbly, scratching his head. All he saw was a regular door with a weirdly shaped piece of metal. He didn't get the big deal with it. When building his house, Natsu didn't even bother with a lock 'cause who the hell is gonna sneak in the woods to steal stuff from nothing? Honestly, he didn't have much valuables except his scarf and Jewels he kept hidden under his wooden flo- oops, said too much.

"Well, you see, this lock is able to recognize the temporary users of this room by inputting your magic into the keys. Pretty ingenious I must say." Erza said while she took the piece of metal in her hand as it glowed a soft pink color. Sliding it through the keyhole, she twisted it and opened the door, revealing the magnificence that was the hotel they were staying in.

The room released a cool air that hit their faces as the duo of mages looked in awe at the place. Walking through the door, the first thing you see is the huge clear glass window which showed the view of the beach perfectly, letting in the natural light. By the windows was a dining table for five with it being crafted from sand colored marble. The whole entry room was a elegant kitchen with a lacrima screen to the left wall for news. Turning to the right, there was a small hallway leading to the bedroom as there were also some bathrooms along the way. Opening the door to the room, Natsu instantly jumped on the sand designed bed that was shaped like an oval. The whole composition of the walls was a tannish color, matching the furniture and the bottom half of it being velvet red, matching the rug covered floor.

"This! Is! AWESOME!" Natsu screamed in joy as he continued to jump in the bed. Erza simply smiled at his antics, giving her own input.

"Yes, I must agree with you Natsu. This is pretty nice." Erza said amusingly. Looking around the room, she saw that on the counter near the bed was a white note with the back being written in cursive. Walking over there in curiosity, Erza picked up the letter and opened it, also happening to get Natsu's attention.

"What's that?" Natsu asked as he jumped off the bed, standing by Erza's side while he looked at the piece of paper.

Turning the envelope, Erza read the back of it, "To Mr. Salamander and Mrs. Titania. From Jason."

"God damn it, it's him. I've lost my interest, Imma go now." Natsu was about to walk away until Erza roughly grabbed his collar, stopping him from leaving.

"This is addressed to both of us. We should at least give it a look." Erza said sternly while Natsu grunted in response. Opening the note in the envelope, Erza began to read a loud.

"Dear Cool Fairy Tail members-"

"Let me burn it! This is already so irritating!" Natsu fumed lighting his hands on fire.

"Don't use your magic in here Natsu. You could burn the whole place… again," Erza sweat-dropped at the memory of that, "Anyway, I'm going to continue. Dear Cool Fairy Tail members, This is Jason speaking-"

"No shit."

"I wrote this to tell you what will happen during your stay. This photo shot will probably take a few days as the Sorcerer Weekly wants this to be as cool as possible. I know you just got here to night so take all the rest you need. Tomorrow will be a cool day and I want this project to turn out super cool as well. Can't wait to meet you cool people. If you have anymore questions, ask me tomorrow and I will answer them in more detail. Ps, You will be given cool different outfits to wear for different photos. Pss, you guys are the coolest."

By the end of the letter, Natsu could be visible seen shaking in frustration while Erza just sighed, "Fine, you can burn it." She said reluctantly giving him the piece of paper while he grinned mischievously.

"Hahaha! Die, die!" Natsu yelled as he watched the paper crumbling into ash, "Ahh, that feels better." Natsu said sighing blissfully.

"Well, it better. I don't want you to blow a fuse when we're going to go check out the beach." Erza said walking away from the pyro.

"Huh? But it's so late, why would you want to go?" Natsu asked confused.

"I'm not going to go in the water. I'm going to take a walk on the beach. It's peaceful at night," Erza stated requipping in a more comfortable outfit. She wore a blue v-neck blouse with a white see through jacket over it. For pants, Erza had short jeans with black sandals on her feet. Finally, her hair was done in pony tail, "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll come anyway, it seems nice." Natsu said happily as he followed Erza out the door and into the elevator. Eventually, they got to the beach shore and marveled at the clear sky that showed that stars twinkling.

"Wow, that's one helluva view." Natsu said in awe, looking up at the night sky with a small grin.

"Come on, I want to see the rest of this place." Erza instructed while Natsu caught up with her pace and trodden the calming beach which had almost no people as Erza said.

"I'd never thought that you'd like this stuff Natsu." Erza said, impressed with how serene Natsu was contrasted with his usual hot-headed brash behavior.

"Well, I live in the woods and this is a sight I see almost every night. It helps calm me down after a busy day 'cause… well, it reminds me of my time with Igneel as kid and all the times he told me stories about the Dragons that lived in the stars. It's nice to relive those moments even if they're just memories." Natsu explained, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He looked wearily at Erza's response to only to see her looking back at him.

"I can't believe you never told anybody that, Natsu. And why me?" Erza asked puzzled.

"Hehe, well it's not really a secret. It's just that, no one ever comes close to that topic so I don't bother answering. Plus, it's kinda embarrassing." Natsu sheepishly said, making up an excuse for his silence on the matter.

"I... see. I have something similar to that as well. When I was in the Tower of Heaven, I used to look up at the sky to see the moon and stars. There was only one window in the cellar so I took as much time I had to look at it. In my eyes, the sight was simply enchanting." Erza explained strenuously, having a hard time of getting passed her troubles and telling Natsu this.

Feelin the tension in the air, Natsu spoke, "Thanks for sharing that, Erza. I never knew you had a girly side at all."

That statement got under her skin, "Of course I do dummy! I am a girl of course."

"I know, but it's hard to think of it that way when you're always beating me!" Natsu yelled back in defense.

"Hmpf, that's because you always act like a child. I never knew you could be so grown-up." Erza shot back while Natsu growled in response. Figuring out a way to get back at her, Natsu quickly tied his scarf around his forehead and headed towards the water.

"Holy heck! Did you see that Erza!?" Natsu screamed in pretend shock, but Erza didn't catch on. She curiously looked towards the water as Nasu went in the ocean, looking like he's searching for something.

"What is it?" Erza asked dumbly as she let her curiosity take over and walked in the water as well.

"It was like some sparkling thing in the water I saw. It has to be some kinda treasure or somethin'!" Natsu smiled grimly as he saw Erza's face light up at the sound of treasure.

"Treasure… money… cake… strawberries…" Erza instantly jumped in the ocean water and started looking around with Natsu, "We have to find this treasure to see whether it's real or not. This could buy me a fortune of strawberry cheesecakes!" She said the last part to herself, not wanting Natsu to know her real reason for joining this hunt.

"Hahaha! Gotcha!"

"What do you me- kyaa!" Erza screamed in shock as she felt freezing cold water hit her body as she shivered vigorously, "S-s-s-o-o t-this-s was-s-s y-y-our-r-r p-p-pla-an a-a-l-l a-a lo-n-ng!?"

"Hahaha! Of course it was! And you fell for it! Hahahahaha!" Natsu laughed triumphantly, holding his stomach to stop the laughter, "Ya know, you sound cute when you scream like that."

Erza's face turned bright red at this, but Natsu could actually see it because it was so dark out, "Natsu… I'm gonna kill you." Erza said dangerously.

"Eh? What now? C-come on Erza, it's just a joke to lighten up the mood… right?" Natsu trembled in his boots, fearing what exactly was going to happen to him. Seeing her body flash in a bright gold, he felt the blood drain from his face, "Seriously, you're gonna take it this far!? Why do you have to use your Sea Empress armor!?"

"You did this to yourself," Erza said in a scarily calm way, bringing her sword over her head, "Be gone!" Smashing her weapon in the water, a tremendous amount of formed into a wave and sent Natsu out into the depths of the sea.

Crying out in agony, Natsu screamed, "Why meee!"

As the wave subsided, Erza saw the error of her ways. Now she has to do more work and find the idiot. ' _I should have just knocked him out again._ '

After an hour or so of searching, she found his lifeless body floating above water, moving with the waves. Using her Flight armor, Erza dragged him to him shore and laid him on the sand.

"Natsu… hey, Natsu," Erza called out, slapping him on the face, "Oh boy." She said to herself as she started to pumped his chest to get the water out of his lungs. Over and over she tried but he still wasn't reviving, "Please don't tell I have to do... _that._ " Erza said gulping at the end. Deciding that there was no other way, she leaned down to his face with a big blush, waiting for the contact… but she stopped mid-way.

"Like hell I'm going to do it!" Erza screamed in denial as she punched down on Natsu's chest, "Wake up, Natsu! Wake up!" And just like that, Natsu spat out a gallon of water and sat up quickly, "Oh, good, you're alright."

"No thanks to you!" Natsu yelled before passing out again from exhaustion.

"God, you're a hand full. Oh well, let's go." Erza once again lifted him up on her back and headed towards their hotel with Natsu sleeping soundly on her shoulder. ' _Hmm, he looks cute like that. Wait, what did I just say? Nevermind, I'll just put him on the bed and sleep next to him. Because of him I'm soaking wet and his naturally unnatural body heat should prevent me from getting sick. I wonder if he'll notice if I cuddle with him while he sleeps. Huh? What was that again? I mean, I'll lay close to him to get more heat. Yeah, that's it.'_

And so, they made it to their room with Erza requiring out of her wet clothes and into her pink pajamas. She decided she had to take Natsu's clothes off as well, so she stripped him, stopping at his underwear. She just didn't want the bed to get wet too. Lying close to him under the covers for warmth, Erza thought about the events of today and realized that it wasn't half bad.

She couldn't wait to spend tomorrow with Natsu.


	3. Chapter 3

**First One of the Day**

 _Security. Comfort. Warmth. Contentment. Joyous. Relief. Satisfaction._

These were the positive feelings Erza felt in her sleep. She didn't know why though, but she was lying with the coziest body pillow she had ever felt. The feeling of hugging it closer to her body and the heat it gave off was addictive; relaxing her tense muscles and warming up her cold feet under the covers. Erza felt fantastic sleeping with this thing. Her dreams consisted of idly sitting in a hot spring with the rock walls containing the water being as comfortable as can be. It was odd, though. When did she ever get one? She doesn't remember packing one of these wonders, nor does she remember having one?

Suddenly, the amazing body pillow started slipping from her grasp, going off to the side of the bed and leaving for what seemed like an eternity. Chills racked her body as the covers were lifted somehow and Erza's graceful face gained a deep frown. She didn't know pillows can move? _'Wait a second…'_ They don't.

Her eyes involuntarily twitched as a soft noise made its way to her ears. Then, a rough uneven surface landed on her exposed shoulder. What was it? What is it? _'Mmm, go away.'_ She thought in annoyance, turning her body away from the disturbance. But, it happened again, only this time the force was stronger and the noise was increasing in volume.

The constant interruption made her eyes flutter open before tightly squeezing them as the sun greeted her with malice. Groaning in frustration, Erza knew she had to get up, but didn't know who was doing it. That's when it all hit her, the memories of the days before her flooded in rapidly while she turned swiftly back to her other side and stared awkwardly into the man's eyes.

It was Natsu…

"Sheesh, you're finally awake? And I thought I was the heavy sleeper," Natsu said with a bright smile before he threw the covers completely off the bed, "Come on, rising and shine! We gotta go to the stupid Sorcerer Weekly thing!"

"H-huh?" Erza was perplexed. Everything was so sudden for her. Her night was full of bliss and relaxation which made her forget the events in the real world. Wait… Natsu… sleeping with her… on the same bed… and a warm pillow- oh, shit! "Ahh! You- you didn't wake me up even when you knew I did it!?" Erza asked with an ear-splitting pitch in her voice causing Natsu to pick at his own ears to get the ringing to stop.

"Eh, what did you do that I had to wake you up? I mean, you were sleep. What could you've possibly done?" Natsu asked dumbly, still picking at his ear. His face donned a confusion and irritated expression while he started walking away towards the door, "Anyway, Imma go take a shower now, 'kay? The stupid rule about ladies first doesn't make sense to me. Although Lucy thinks otherwise…" Natsu said the last part to himself in a whisper as he started to wonder why he was half-naked in the first place. But he just thought it was Erza's doing and left it at that while entering the bathroom.

But she was left there in a daze, staring at the long-gone figure of Natsu through the door. But she was still pissed, "How does that dumbass not know!?" She fumed quietly to herself, slamming her fist on the foam bed, "How did he not know that I… was…" Erza couldn't stop the blushing that came after. The mere thought of the activity somehow made her flustered. She didn't get it, how can she take a show with the same man that has her all over the place with simple things- like saving his life with CPR or just sleeping half-naked with him!? (Those actually aren't very normal activities. Don't try this at home kids)

 _'But it was nice… How could Lucy kick him out the window every time? I would love it if I could sleep wit- what? What was I just about to say? Nevermind, can't dwell on it too much. We have to get there by noon.'_ Erza instantly blocked her train of thought from before and focused on the important things: posing for the camera. She honestly didn't know where she was headed with that conversation in her head except that it had to deal Natsu, Lucy and doing something again, which was probably punishing Natsu and checking up on Lucy.

Deciding to roll off the oval bed and landing on her feet, Erza drew a deep breath to clear her mind. Right now she needed to focus and take up this job head on! Not get distracted with whatever Natsu was doing, even though she'll be working with him.

 _'Now I guess I'll just wait for him in the bathroom.'_

 **A few hours later, around 12 o'clock:**

"Aww, man! What a good breakfast! I should come to eat here more often!" Natsu yelled satisfied, patting his stomach with glee.

"Well, that means taking the train more often too." Erza shot back, adjusting her hair to look good for her picture(she's a newbie, doesn't know what'll actually happen).The two friends just got back from a small family owned restaurant where they ate their filling breakfast. It was quite delicious and they got a discount for ordering so much food, which was mostly on Natsu's accountability. Of course, they dressed in their usual outfits, already knowing that Jason had others waiting for them. It didn't take long for the two to get to their destination. It was near the docks leading to the beach shore, where all the shops and merchandise carts were located.

"I really want to get this over with and go on some S-class missions again. Buuut, I guess I can stay for the food. And the bed too." Natsu said lazily, putting one hand behind his head and licking the leftover sauce off the other. Arriving at the place where they were told, the camera crew already had a whole area set up with lights, tapes, and lacrimas placed all over, but there was one clear spot where it was empty.

"Stop your complaining Natsu. This is going to be fun! Trying on different outfits, getting our picture taken, doing different poses, it sounds great!" Erza said enthusiastically, getting pumped for this job.

"I think that's more your of shtick." Natsu answered back quickly, closing his eyes in thought.

"Shut up." Erza said annoyed, slapping Natsu on the head as it started to bob back and forth. Shaking the dizziness out of his system(it doesn't make sense, I know) Natsu was instantly greeted with the way-too-eccentric-about-meeting-him Jason. He almost grimaced at the sight of his excited smile. Something was going to happen… and he knew, it was all gonna be fanservice…

Mostly from Jason of course.

"So cool! You guys are really here- and with your usual clothing too! Fantastically cool!" Jason said excitedly, swiftly turning his back to them and waving his hand, signaling them to follow him, "Come on, we gotta get you ready!"

"Okay, but what's going to happen?" Erza asked curiously, really wanting to know what happens in one of these Sorcerer Weekly gatherings.

"Well first, I'll have you two just get pampered up a bit, then have your picture taken with how you are now for the front cover of the magazine." Jason explained quickly, giving her the answer she wanted.

"Wait… us, on the front cover?" Natsu asked surprised, pointing towards himself in shock.

"Of course the front cover! We have the great Salamander _and_ the fierce Titania showing together for the first time! It's gonna be so cool!" Jason exclaimed gleefully, throwing his arms out in the air. Stopping abruptly, he called out a name unfamiliar to either of them, "Angela! We need you here to meet some cool people!"

Then, out of nowhere, a girl with a petite stature stood in front of them in no time. She had brown hair that went down to her neck with two bangs going to the side of her soft, plush-like face. Showing her green eyes, the woman named Angela smiled brightly at Erza and Natsu. She wore a purple short sleeve shirt with green pants and brown shoes, " Oh, Jason-san! You really brought them here!? I thought you were just joking about having two Fairy Tail members."

"Nope, not at all. And it's super cool, right!? Anyway, I'm going to need you take care of Erza-san here, just fix her hair a bit- nothing too dramatic," Jason instructed carefully. Turning to Erza, he began to speak again, "She'll be your make-up artist from now on, okay? And don't worry, she's really cool. Well, off you go!"

Suddenly grabbing Erza's hand, Angela beamed a bright smile, "I'm glad to be working with ya! Come on, I have just the right idea to do for your hair." Angela said, dragging Erza along with her to one of the private booths.

"Yes, I'm glad to be working with you too." Erza said also smiling. The two women left, leaving Jason and Natsu alone.

"And, Natsu, you come with me. I have someone cool to show you." Jason said, leading Natsu to another booth.

Groaning painfully in his head, Natsu complied and followed him. The two got to the booth and was greeted by a big man.

"Natsu, this is Roberto! One of my coolest friends!" Jason pointed high to the man in front of him while Natsu couldn't stop staring at the goliath. He was a very bulky, dark-skinned man that had a bald head. His face was stern and had very small lines, showing his age. Though, half of his face was covered in a very long black mustache and beard that connected and went all the way down to his chest, showing little gray hairs here and there.

"R-roberto…" Natsu whispered to himself in awe, "You look so badass!"

"U-uh, thank you, I guess," He said in a deep voice, scratching his beard unsure of how to take that random comment, "Anyway, let's get started. Jason already told me the requirements so I know that there isn't much for me to do."

"Yup Natsu, Roberto will your make-up artist for the time being and I'll call you guys when we're ready. Have a cool time!" Jason said, walking off to another station in the set.

"So, please sit in this sir," Roberto instructed as Natsu walked over to the pointed wooden chair and sat on it, "I'm not gonna do anything fancy, just going to comb it down a little." Humming in response, Natsu waited as the man took out his black comb and put it in his hair. Just as he was about to pull it back, Roberto grunted.

"Huh? What the heck?" He asked himself in confusion, pulling on it harder while Natsu screamed in pain.

"Ahh! Son of Dragon! What'd you that for!?" Natsu yelled in fury, roughly taking the comb out of his hair.

"Sorry sir, but one question. Is your hair naturally this messy and spiky?" Roberto asked in worry.

"Yeah, why? What does that hafta do with this?" Natsu asked confused.

"Have you at least tried to tame your hair?" He asked again, only to get e series of snickers and giggles.

"You serious? Me? Taming this thing?" Natsu laughed, pointing to his hair, "It's freakin' impossible! I even tried to use magical gel to keep it down, but that only lasted about ten minutes. The only thing that actually flattens my hair is getting it wet."

"So, you're saying that you never- not once in your life- tried to fix your hair the way it is?" Roberto asked again with exasperation.

"Pff, no." Natsu answered again in finality.

"Whatever. I can't see what I can do except move your bangs in different positions for a while. Oh well, you're free to go." Roberto said sighing.

"Really, just like that? Well okay! I'm gone-"

"Time's up! Time for the cool picture!" Jason yelled through the curtains while Natsu just deflated in excitement.

"Welp, that's my cue I guess," He said with a slump, walking away slowly, "See ya, Roberto."

"Bye Mr. Dragneel." And so, Natsu exited the booth and headed towards Jason as said man began to lead him towards the empty spot he saw earlier.

"Ooh, I can't wait! This is gonna be so cool!" Jason shouted with excitement, "Let's go see how Erza-san is doing." Natsu grunted after hearing another 'cool' come out of his mouth but ignored it for his own sake. He was more interested to see how Erza was doing after being on her own. With curiosity being his drive, Natsu started to walk faster towards the middle empty space and walked around the giant lights to meet Erza again.

Getting to his destination, he stood there in shock after seeing Erza's new hair do. It wasn't much different than her usual style, but the details are, after all, in the devil. Since his magic enhanced his senses, Natsu could easily pick out the slight differences in her hair- with some being obvious for a normal person to pick out. Her hair was done in a way that had broken up into three parts: two strands of hair was bunched up over her shoulder with the main part sliding down her back. And the added volume given by Angela made her scarlet hair stand out even more. To finish the light touch, Erza had a bang on the right side of her face that covered the majority of her eye. It was combed downwards then back to give it a natural curl.

"Wow Erza, you look great!" Natsu complemented happily, walking up to her with a smile.

"Really, you think so? I didn't know anyone was going to notice." Erza said modestly, pushing some of her hair back behind her ear. _'Although, I do like the style. I might keep it when this is all done.'_ Smiling to herself, she greeted Natsu as well.

"So, are you ready for your first photo shoot?" Natsu asked excitedly, finally getting to help Erza with something new and not the other way around.

"Of course I am! Let's do this!" Erza exclaimed with her eyes gleaming with determination. But their conversation was cut short by Jason- also known as the head director of this photo shot for Sorcerer Weekly.

"Okay, cool people! We have are special guests here so let's welcome them with the best of our services!" Jason called out as the stage crew began to cheer for them, "Alright! First things first, we're going to have you take a picture the way you are and then have you change into different outfits! Please comply with our demands, for the fanservice given to us by the people of Fiore have waited to see this! Do not be alarmed if anything uncool happens, just please bare with it!"

"What is he talking about?" Erza questioned, turning to Natsu.

"Well, there's this thing called fanservice that Sorcerer Weekly has to keep up with so they won't lose their ratings. It's something Mira has to go through with- that's why you often see her in different bathing suits in weird positions," Natsu explained with a heavy sigh, "The things that those people made me do… it's just unforgivable. But there is a limit of how far they can go thanks to citizen rights and employment contracts."

"You sure do know a lot about this stuff even though you supposedly hate it." Erza said egotistically.

"Don't get me wrong. I still hate those sons of a gun called producers for making this stuff. It's just that Mira had me read the whole contract before she forced me again to go to these things before. Which is kinda contradictory." Natsu said defending himself.

"Get in positions, everyone! It's time to start!" Jason announced, getting off his little stage and walking towards Natsu and lights turned on and the cameras were being adjusted before the real thing started, "Okay you guys, listen, this is gonna be super cool if everything goes as planned. I want you to act as natural as can be- just act like you're in Fairy Tail right now, talking and having a friendly conversation but look at the camera and put on the best smiles."

"Roger that." Erza said, understanding what he meant. _'Natural, huh? I guess he wants me to hug Natsu the way I usually do? Yeah, that'll work.'_ Erza thought, watching Jason go back to his director seat.

"IT'S COOL TIME!" Jason screamed in his megaphone, getting everyone's attention. The cameras started rolling and the lights flashed brighter as Jason pointed towards them, "Begin!"

With that being said, Erza reached over to Natsu and proceeded to give him one of her best hugs ever. Closing her eyes and enjoying the moment of being in the spotlight, Erza heard Jason scream.

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!" Jason got off his chair and walked over to them while Erza let Natsu go, hearing a 'thump' noise afterward, "Oh my gosh, what just happened- were you trying to kill him?"

"Eh, kill him? I was just acting normal and giving him a hug." Erza said, not seeing the after effects of her stunt.

"No, no, no. Just turn it down a little," Jason instructed, watching Natsu slowly get up, "Wait, I have an idea about this! It's perfect!"

"W-what's goin' on?" Natsu asked, getting no response from anyone in the area.

"Let me do all the work," Jason said with a smile as he moved Natsu, Erza and their body parts at a really fast pace, "Tada! Now Natsu, give a thumbs up and a bright smile. And Erza, close your eyes but smile as well, like you're in bliss."

"Uh…" Natsu just blinked in confusion. All he remembers is being hit with something hard on the head, and then waking up suddenly to only be forcibly maneuvered around in an uncomfortable state. He saw that his body was slouched a bit as Erza's arm was around his neck with his head being slightly pushed against her breastplate, and with what Jason said, Natsu supposed he had to pose with her like this.

 _'Oh boy.'_ Natsu thought tiredly.

"Hey, is everyone ready!? Alright, let's get this over with and move on to the other cool pictures! Start!" Jason yelled while Natsu sighed. He saw the cameras were already on film and prepared to take take the shot when they posed. Looking up quickly, Natsu saw that Erza was following her instructions to the letter, which made her look beautiful in his opinion.

 _'Wait a second… where the hell did that come from?'_ Natsu thought suddenly. Deciding to completely ignore his thought process(as usual) Natsu began to do what he was told, giving the thumbs up and smile to the camera. A couple flashes later and they were done. It was weird for Natsu because they usually take multiple shots of him in different positions. But he guessed Jason was, well… different- which wasn't surprising to him at all.

"Alright people! There's still more to do during this cool day and we must make it happen fast! So let's do this!" Jason screamed, pumping his co-workers up along with him.

Natsu felt his uncomfortable position being slowly undone while he looked up to see Erza smiling at him.

"Wasn't that fun Natsu?" She asked happily, landing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, for you maybe. It was bad for me since I had to slouch the whole time." Natsu answered with a small pout.

Giggling a bit, Erza widened her smile, "I can't believe it- you look adorable when you pout like that! If they made a merchandise of that, I would buy it."

"W-what!?" Natsu screamed embarrassed, having a little blush on his cheeks, "Screw that! I am so not cute! I'm a furious fire breathing Dragon!" He fumed comically.

"Yes, whatever you say Natsu," Erza answered sarcastically while a Natsu just gambled in response, "Come on, they're moving the set, we've got to go."

"Hmpf, fine." Natsu said reluctantly. He didn't know why but he really enjoyed being with Erza. When he's with everyone else, she tends to beat him silly for almost every mistake he made, but here, alone with her, was different. He had some weird feeling building within him that told him to make her happy, protect her, be by her side, and he didn't mind it one bit. In fact, he enjoyed spending time with her.

 _'We should do this more often.'_

Natsu couldn't wait to spend to rest of the day with Erza.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, you won't guess what happened to me. One of my favorite authors followed this story(and that person is probably reading his right now) I replied back to me when I PMed him. Crazy right? It was like talking to the Michael Jordan of writing, which might be too much of an exaggeration but whatever. But about the story, please don't get confused about the events. I stated in the first chapter that Natsu already did this thing before, but once again, Mira influenced him to go but it was alone, not with her. That was the first time and from then on, he hated the experience.**

 **Anyway, I'm really surprised at how this story has grown, I just could believe that it would happen but it did... which is weird. I never knew so many people would want to picture Natsu and Erza taking a picture together. Oh, and about that, I got this idea by looking at Naza pictures on Deviant art while coincidently listening to a song that had some drive to this story's plot. Sometimes the greatest things come from the weird experiences, just like how Newton had a "super knowledge apple" that gave him the idea of gravity when it hit his head. Just so weird...**

 **Anywho, Pm/review, follow, share or do whatever(cause I literally can't stop you!)**

 **Have a nice time reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Making the Most of Today**

"Onto the beach we go!" Jason yelled, ecstatic about the next photo they were about to take. After the first one, the crew packed the set and moved on their way to the beach by the instructions of Jason. It didn't take long to get there since they all were literally on the docks of said beach.

Though, Natsu himself was curious about what exactly they were going to do there. One thing he knew was for certain is the fact that Erza and himself are going to have to change into bathing suits- no questions asked. But the thing that was bugging him was what Jason had in mind for what kind of pictures they are soon going to be taking. He just hoped it wasn't anything too extreme, 'cause right now, she was with the most extreme person he knew to date.

Erza.

Speaking of her, she was merrily walking through the sand while the set was being set up again. She seemed to be so excited that she paced back and forth, but the heavy armor did drag her into the sand multiple times. With her hand to her chin, Erza started mumbling to herself about something that Natsu couldn't completely decode.

"The beach, huh? Seems like a good place to take a photo as that is one of the most popular places Mira does her shoots. I wonder what kind of pose I should do? Or are they going to tell me what to do? Will the pictures be separate or will I have to do them with Natsu? Also, what kind of title would they pick? I would personally like "Mages under the Sun", but it's-"

"Hey, Erza! Whatcha doing here by yourself? Come with me, they're serving drinks by one of the booths while the cameras are being set." Natsu casually interrupted Erza's self-conversation while he walked up to her with a smile.

"Oh, hey Natsu. I was just thinking is all." Erza said, dismissing any weird thoughts Natsu may have had- luckily, he had none.

"Are you coming or not? We don't have to do drinks if you don't want to." Natsu said unsure of how good he was handling the situation. He came over to her to see if she wanted to talk to someone else instead of herself, but that completely backfired in his mind. He was never really good at approaching people when he didn't feel like it, and right now was something he was regretting. In all honesty, he didn't want to come to Erza but forced himself to just so that she didn't feel out of place, but it seemed like he was wrong 'cause she was perfectly fine.

"Yeah, I'll come with. As long as they have a Strawberry Banana shake _with_ whipped-cream." Erza said sternly pointing her finger up as Natsu just laughed.

"Hahaha, yeah, I'll make sure to check. Anyway, let's go-" Natsu was stopped midsentence when they both heard a booming noise.

"ATTENTION ALL CO-WORKERS AND CREW MEMBERS! PLEASE STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND REPORT TO THE MAIN SET IMMEDIATELY! WE WILL BEGIN THE NEXT PICTURE TAKE IN MINUS 2 MIN! STAY COOL EVERYONE!"

"What the? Jason?" Natsu asked shocked.

"We'll have to do drinks later Natsu, Jason is calling us. I'll meet you there." Erza began jogging towards the newly set up stage where they'll be taking their next picture. Natsu looked dumbfounded at how easily she left him and started to jog along with her while still having shocked eyes.

' _Wow, she really wants to get into this.'_ Natsu thought, puzzled about her excitement of taking pictures.

Once there, they each went to their separate booths to get ready for the photo. Erza met up with Angela and Natsu with Roberto.

The minute Erza saw Angela, she was already in up close to her face beaming with happiness. Erza couldn't help but smile with her as Angela's jolly personality was contagious.

"Hey Erza-san, are you ready for your next photo?" Angela asked hyper, guiding Erza to her chair which was in front of a mirror with multiple beauty supplies.

"Of course! Doing this is actually very fun." Erza said as a matter of fact.

"And what about Natsu-san? When I saw him come here, he didn't seem to be very optimistic compared to the first one." Angela asked.

"Oh, that? He just doesn't like doing these things. I bet he's just tired from doing the first already." Erza stated as a matter of fact.

"Really? 'Cause it seems like it's a different problem to me." Angela said, stating her own opinion.

"How so?" Erza asked with her interest peaked. Now she can get a different view of Natsu from another person.

"Well- and no offense to you Erza- but, it seems like Natsu is bothered by being with you. But just a _little,_ " After seeing Erza's baffled face, Angela continued, "I think that Natsu is trying way too hard to make you have a good experience here. But seeing as you don't need as much help as he expected probably makes him feel bummed." And with that Erza's eyes widen in realization as her thick shell cracked open. Of course, Natsu might be feeling this way. That's just the person he is.

He probably thinks she was the one always helping him, and now was one of those opportunities for him to help her. But Erza thought that was silly. Natsu has helped her out countless times, without him even realizing it. And the biggest one was saving her from her own wretched past at the Tower of heaven when it came back to haunt her.

She giggled a bit when everything was pieced together. ' _Stupid Natsu. Always caring for others without regard for yourself. Hehehe, you've got to grow up a bit.'_

"Eh? What's so funny Erza-san? Why're you giggling like that?" Angela asked, reaching for the brush.

"Well, you see, Natsu might not even know he feels this way. Thanks, Angela, for helping me see what was going on."

"No problem Erza-san. Anyway, let's begin." She said as the two smiled at each other.

"So what's the style for today?" Erza asked giddily.

"Jason wants me to add waves and curls to your hair. But since you don't naturally have that, I'll be using a hair straightener to do it." Angela answered while she continued to brush and comb Erza's hair.

"What? Why not use a Hair curler for that?" Erza asked, dumbfounded by her ways.

"Well, that's easy. I like this method more, in which you slowly spin the straightener down your hair. I think it gives you more control." Angela explained thoroughly.

"No way. I never thought of using it that way." Erza said in shock.

 **With Natsu and Roberto:**

"God, I don't even know why you come here." Roberto said sighing.

"For the costume."

"Oh, right." Roberto said, sighing again. Don't get him wrong, he likes when Natsu comes to his booth, but it just saddens him when he realizes that after devoting his whole life to cosmetics and hair design, that there's one person in his whole career that he can't do hair styles on. Life is just an angry giant crab that pinches you in the ass.

"So, Roberto, what do you think Jason left me?" Natsu asked curiously, walking into his dress closet while Roberto waited.

"Hmm, I think I've gotta say some trunks. Anything else and that would be-" That's when he heard the curtain swish and out came Natsu with a spe- what!

"WHAT-!"

"THE-!"

"HELL!"

"That son of a- Imma knock his skull in!" Natsu yelled fuming.

"There's no need for that, Natsu-dono! You don't need to go on a rampage just because you're wearing a Speedo!" Roberto yelled out, blocking Natsu's path, "Just stay here. I'll go check if there's anything else in there."

"Fine." Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms with a pout.

"Here, I think you were supposed to wear this." Roberto pulled out some red trunks with a white cross stitched on the left leg and under it said 'Guard' in white as well, "Oh, take this too." Then he pulls out a life tube with red and white stripes going around it.

"Oh, that makes more sense." Natsu sheepishly took the clothing and went back into the changing room and came out with the new clothing. "Now I feel like an idiot." Natsu said scratching his head in shame.

"I'm just happy you calmed down." Roberto said with a smile at his success.

"Yeah, yeah. Just do your job." Natsu said irritated as he jumped on the comfortable chair.

"I can't though." Roberto answered with a deadpanned face.

"Oh, right. I guess I'll just chill here until it's time." Natsu said, jumping into the wheelchair and spinning.

But at this moment Roberto saw the right time to talk about something that was on his mind about Natsu.

"Excuse me, Natsu-dono, but I have one question for you."

"Yeah, what's up?" Natsu called out from his seat while Roberto walked over.

"Well, it's about you and Erza-dono. Are you in a relationship with her by any chance?"

"Yeah, I am." Natsu answered flatly. ' _Of course I am, she's like the older sibling I never had!'_

"I see. And has anything happened between you two that has caused any awkwardness?"

"Sadly, yes." Natsu said putting his head down in shame. ' _I just can't seem to get close to her without me messing up somehow. She probably thinks I'm a dork or something.'_

"Oh, that's too bad. With your kind of relationship, it'll most likely be destroyed if this continues any further." Roberto said nodding his head.

"What! It will!?" Natsu screamed surprised and anxious.

"Yes, but that is only if you don't fix it." Roberto stated, stroking his beard and closing his eyes in thought.

"Tell me, please, I beg of you! Tell me!" Natsu started to gravel on the floor which surprised him very much.

"Okay, okay I will. Just stop with… that," Roberto said, creeped out with the crying face Natsu had, "So, to fix a relationship like this, you have to give her stuff that she will like or make her happy. Take her out for some divine food or buy her some clothes. That'll surely do the trick."

"R-really?" Natsu said hopefully with tears in his eyes and boogers down his nose.

"Yeah, now go out there and make me proud!"

"I will sir!" Natsu saluted, completely discarding his previous emotional state. Walking out the booth, Natsu turned back swiftly while Roberto looked baffled, "I forgot my scarf!" He yelled in a triumphant way. He was still in the mood, I guess.

"My, my, how kids grow. That kid's gonna be a wonderful pimp." Roberto thought back to the golden days, when he was in between hair stylist jobs, to when he was king of the underground. ' _Natsu-dono… I wish you well on your journey. I know what it's like being in a sexual relationship with your best friend and I hope you patch up your sex life with her as soon as possible.'_ Roberto thought happily. "Well, I could go for a grape soda right now."

 **With Natsu:**

"Uhg, what to do, what to do…" Natsu said to himself in a hurry. He walked out the booth with his new outfit carrying the life tube on his shoulder and his scarf around his neck while he walked along the shore of the beach, hoping to get an idea before the new shoot. "Roberto said to buy her something… something that she likes… well, what the hell could that be! That woman doesn't like any-... holy shit, it's strawberry cake!" Natsu screamed at the revelation.

"But I would have to do that after this whole thing is over and who knows how long that'll be… Oh, I can also buy her some jewelry… which, she doesn't wear. Come on, Erza, why'd you hafta be so difficult."

"ATTENTION! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE! ALL WORKERS PLEASE REPORT TO THE COOL SET WE PUT UP! HURRY BACK IF YOU'RE ON A COOL BREAK! SEE YOU HERE!"

"God, it's Jason. I guess I'll wing the whole entire thing. Like usual, it all happens last minute. I'll somehow make it." Natsu said, shrugging his shoulder as he ran off to go to the newly set up stage for the picture. He got there no time with all the things still on him. Walking to the backstage near the director's seat, Natsu waited for Erza with sweat dripping down his face.

' _Oh no, this is bad. I can't help thinking if I mess up. Think Natsu, what would Gramps do… Ah, who am I kiddin', he'll probably drink his problems away. Come on, gotta think of something before-'_

"Ah, Erza-san! Welcome back! Ready to get to work?" Jason popped out from behind Natsu while he paled at the name.

' _I'm not ready!'_

He saw her coming from the right side of the set with a yellow two-piece swimsuit with wavy frills on the edges. There was little makeup done to her face with lip gloss applied to make her lips glisten and her eyelashes being brushed to be given more volume. Her hair was like an illusion with its waviness being as if it was moving due to the way it shone in the light. The hair was done in a small half bun in the back of the head with a yellow hair band tied to the back while the main body slid down her back.

"Of course I'm ready! Let's do this Natsu!" Erza yelled enthusiastically.

"Yay." Natsu said in a bleak manner. And so the two walked onto the stage surrounded by cameras while the background was that of the ocean and sand. Jason walked up to them with a smile as the two waited in the sand.

"So, here's what I'm thinking of the cool first picture. 'The Lifeguard gallantly saves the damsel from drowning and walks up to shore with her in his arms. But wait, she's unconscious and isn't breathing. What will Natsu do now?' Is what I'm thinking. That's basically the cool scenario but we have to capture all of that in a cool motionless stand-still shot. Are you guys ready!?"

"Aye, sir!" Erza saluted Jason as he walked back. Getting to his chair, he called out to somebody unknown to them as a guy with a spray bottle walked towards them.

"What now- ah!" Natsu yelled in shock as he was blasted with cold water from the spray, "What the heck!? What's goin' on!?"

"Well, to make it look like you both just got out of the water, we have to wet you first." Jason explained while Natsu grumbled at how correct he was. Then grumbled some more after being shot repeatedly with cold water. And when Erza got sprayed, she didn't even blink an eye.

"Now then, BEGIN THE COOLNESS!"

And with that, Natsu swept Erza off her feet, holding her bridal style in his arms until Jason suddenly called out, "CUT!"

"What is it now?" Natsu asked tiredly.

"Well, I was just hoping you would do the thing with your scarf where you tie it around your head like a headband. I think it'll look cool that way." Jason said explaining his reasoning.

"Wait, how do you even know I do that? That only happens around the guild or when I'm in wat- oohhh, I see," Natsu mentally facepalmed himself at not realizing this earlier and began to unwrap the scarf around his neck and tie it around his head, "Is that better now?" He asked sarcastically.

"Perfectly cool!" Jason said giving a thumbs up while walking back to his chair and giving a signal to start again.

"Okay Natsu, this time don't pick me up so hastily." Erza commanded, causing Natsu blush a bit in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I guess I did kinda rush it. My bad." And so, by bending down, he held Erza in the same position as before as the cameras flashed. Erza was pretending to be limp in his arms while Natsu… had a scared face etched on.

"Cut cut cut!" Jason yelled in his megaphone, "Natsu-san, what are you doing!? You're supposed to be a badass lifeguard with a dying woman in your arms! And you look scared!? Come on, show some of that determination I've heard so much about."

' _What, I didn't even know I looked scared on the outside, though, I'm screaming on the inside like there's no tomorrow! What the hell am I supposed to do to make Erza happy! Roberto's advice seems so hard!'_

"Hey, Natsu," Erza whispered, still being in his arms, "You know, if you really tried in this picture shoot, it would make me really happy to know that you also enjoyed it."

 _SNAP!_

' _Erza… will be happy… if I try? Seriously, that's it? That's all there is to it? No way, I'm calling bullshit on that… or maybe, if this really does make her happy, I could add on top of this to make her SUPER joyful! Oh Natsu, you sly Dragon.'_ He thought to himself with a small smile at his plan.

"Let's do this." He said to himself as Erza smiled as well when she felt the change in his demeanor. Then, in that moment, Natsu's whole attitude changed with him holding Erza tighter and furrowing his brow down a little while keeping his mouth a straight line. In all honesty, he looked like he was gonna punch somebody. ' _I am so gonna nail this. You want me to look determined, well here it is. I'm determined to make Erza happy is what I am.'_

"Hurry! Roll the cool cameras! This is what I was waiting for!" And with Jason's command, the lights started flashing, capturing every second that procured. And after a minute or two of the camera lenses going on and off, Jason finally yelled, "CUT! Okay everyone that was pretty cool! Onto the next one! Take this time to reset the Film Lacrimas." Jason ordered as he got off his chair and walked over to the two Fairy Tail mages. Seeing as the shoot was over, Natsu gently place Erza back on the ground as they both watched Jason walk over.

"So what now?" Natsu asked, seeing as Jason made it over.

"Okay, so this one is going to be a continuation of the last one. 'The determined but worried lifeguard places the beautiful lady on the sand while holding her scarlet locks in his hand. Lifting her head up, he leans in, ready to save her with a kiss.' And by kiss I mean CPR." Jason explained his thinking as Erza's mind did somersaults.

"K-k-ki-kis-kiss!? You're joking, right? You can't be serious!" Erza exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You two won't actually kiss; we'll do a cool freeze frame of Natsu-san's face close to yours so it looks like you two are about to kiss. Pretty cool right?" Jason explained as Erza's red face turned back to its normal color.

"Oh, what a relief. If I had to actually kiss Erza, she'd cut my lips off right after." Natsu exaggerated, wiping some sweat from his temple. But all that got him was a smack on the head.

"Stop with that. I wouldn't do something so heinous." Erza said in her defense.

"I beg to differ." Natsu whispered so she would hear.

"So, are two cool people ready? If so, let's get started!" Jason marched back to his chair and signaled them again to begin while making sure the cameras were set. And while Natsu and Erza were readying themselves, she couldn't help but have her mind race.

' _I can't believe this is going to happen. I know I won't actually kiss him, but… just the thought makes me hazy! Okay, just calm down Erza, it's going to be alright. Close your eyes like you're supposed to and it'll all be over. Just… close your… eyes…'_ Erza felt her body being moved by Natsu as her back was flat on the sand. He had his hand behind her head as she felt his breath going down her neck. ' _Ahh! How can he go through with this so easily!? What the hell's on his mind!?'_

' _Huh, so this is gonna happen. I pray to Igneel this makes her happy too. Welp, there's nothing I can do. Here I go.'_ Natsu, in a nonchalant way, leaned in without hesitation as Jason moved forward in his chair in anticipation… until he looked towards Erza face and saw the tenseness that appeared there.

"Cut cut!" He yelled tiredly, looking a bit dissatisfied, "Erza-san, what was that? Why do you look so, so, scared and anxious and tense and all the others words to describe how you look. You're literally squeezing your face so much that it looks like it's trying to eat itself."

"I-I'm sorry." She said with a blush. She guessed that Jason's words did have some truth to them.

And that's when Natsu nudged her on the arm with his elbow and whispered to her, "Hey, if this scene makes you a bit nervous, just think that I'm some type of strawberry cake, and if this goes smoothly, I'll be sure to buy you some on the way back." ' _Hahaha! I'm a genius! Now she has no choice but to be happy after an offer like that!'_

"Really, you would do that for me?" Erza asked with stars in her eyes.

"Of course, now let's just get this over." Natsu said smiling at her causing her to blush a bit.

"Hey, you cool guys ready yet?" Jason asked, quirking his eyebrow up in confusion. He didn't know what the two were talking about but he just hopes that it would move along, the day doesn't stay young forever.

"Yeah, you can go now." Natsu answered, looking back at Erza as she gave him an affirmative nod that she was ready. And so, lying Erza back on the ground, Natsu wasted no time in leaning in towards her face, which in his opinion looked even more beautiful this close up.

' _Huh, what the hell am I sayin'? I mean, she is a pretty girl but… do I really think of her that way? Oh well, I'll find out sometime.'_ Natsu thought as he continued his photo shot with the lights flashing again when he stopped mere inches from Erza's lips with his own opened a bit for more effect.

"Okay cool people, that's it for this one! Cool job everyone, fantastic!" Jason yelled, applauding his crew members, "And you two, what a cool performance! I didn't think you would be able to pull out this much emotion but somehow you did! So cool!"

"Well what'd you expect! We Fairy Tail members put 100% into everything!" Natsu boasted, puffing out his chest.

"Anyway, that was cool. And if you guys can do that kind of cool stuff for the rest of the day, we'll be done with the cool beach pictures in no time and move on to something even cooler tomorrow." Jason explained giddily, looking like he wants to bounce up and down.

"Really, if so let's get this done Erza!" Natsu yelled in anticipation. ' _The sooner we get this done, the sooner I get to please Erza and fix our relationship!'_ And with that mindset, the two of them blew past the different pictures in only a few hours with some breaks in between of course.

Doing the different poses was something entirely new to Erza, and she hated to admit it, but, Mira was right when she said it was hard. The fact that they had to do the same over and over again if it wasn't considered _perfect_ to Jason kind of pissed her off when she was trying her hardest to do so, but luckily Natsu was there to give her some pointers he learned through his own experiences. The fact he was there beside her really made this chore of a job worth while, with them sharing some laughs in between breaks. But overall, time moved really quick in her eyes as it was already 7 o'clock with the sun setting.

But for Natsu, time couldn't have been slower. At times, he wished Ultear was there to move things along- until he also realized that her magic doesn't work on living things. And that bummed him out. He really wanted to get this over with and spend the rest of the day pleasing Erza and eventually repairing the sibling-like bond he thought they shared. But after getting the news from Jason that the last picture was the last one for today, he couldn't help but cheer. Now all he had to do was go out with Erza on a…

' _Uh, what did Lucy call it before, when you go out with someone you like to have a good time… it was called a, huh… a date! That's it, a date! I'm gonna take Erza out on a date!'_

"OKAY COOL PEOPLE, YOUR WORK SHIFT IS OVER AND YOU CAN NOW RETURN TO WHATEVER COOL THING YOU WANTED TO DO BEFORE ALL THIS! BUT BE SURE TO COME BACK TOMORROW! YOU ARE NOW DISMISSED!"

"You heard what he said, Erza. We're dismissed!" Natsu screamed, jumping in the air. He and Erza already put their normal wear and walked out of the set and onto the dock with all the stores.

"So what do you want to do now? We still have some time before it gets dark." Erza implied.

"Well, I was going to get you that cake, remember?" Natsu asked dumbly.

"Oh my, I thought you were joking." Erza said surprised, putting a hand over her mouth.

"What, you don't think I can keep my promises!?" Natsu yelled feeling betrayed, "Anyway, I was hoping I can take you on a date after the photo shoot today. So, do you accept?"

"I-I-I-I-I y-y-y-yo-you-ou u-u-us-s-s w-w-w-we-e o-o-on a-a-a d-d-date!?" Erza's face went the color of a rose in a split second with steam coming from her ears.

"Yeah, a date. Is there something wrong with that?" Natsu asked weirdly.

"N-no, of course not, Natsu. Y-you just caught me off guard. But anyway, I would love to go on a date with you." Erza said, accepting the invitation made by Natsu.

"Sweet! I can't wait to show you what I have in store!" Oh yeah, Natsu was definitely ready. While he was in his booth with Roberto, he got some great ideas of things to do and places to go.

He was going to make the most of Today with Erza.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, by God, it's been what, like a year or something?(It's actually been around 5 months but you get the idea) Time literally flew by for me, and I'm not even kidding. I had so much stuff happening during my _Summer Vacation_ that I didn't have time for this story. Though I didn't update Satan Salamander, that's only when I had the time- and the chapter isn't even past 3k words(Or is it? I can't remember). But besides that stuff, I really missed writing this story and getting feedback from you guys. You all are my supportive fans and I appreciate you reviewing every now and then, but in all honesty, I'm tired of that. What I want... IS MORE REVIEWS AND MORE FOLLOWERS! MWUAHAHAHAHA- *cough *- Ugh, I really should work on that laugh more often, but I got you guys good, didn't I. I was joking when I said I was "tired of that" but I'm serious about more followers. With yall's help, this story could grow to be something like I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I's stories!(But I haven't read them all, I mean who has the time? There's like, a bazillion of them. No offense though) Well, I hope you liked this chapter 'cause I have no idea when the other one is coming out- but look forward to it! Anywho, review, share, follow or do whatever the hell you want because I can't stop you! :) (Don't take that smiley face seriously. I want you all to do those things :( This is how I really feel!)**

 **Tunice Out!**

 **PS: Sorry if the descriptions aren't good. I tried my best at describing them if only you could post pictures on this site.**


	5. Chapter 5

**What Happens Tonight**

Natsu and Erza's second day on the job was over. With about two more to go, Erza anticipated the week to be full of activity in this luxurious town with a multitude of casinos, amusement parks, and restaurants. The one thing she didn't anticipate was Natsu blasting the "D" to her face out of nowhere.

No not that "D".

A date? Him and her? Girl and boy? For real?

' _Well, knowing him, the most logical explanation would be to blame Lucy for this. He probably used the wrong word to describe getting a cake for me.'_ She thought to herself, walking to the apartment as per Natsu's orders. He said for her to get ready at the hotel so she can freshen up, also implying not to dress too fancy- just casual. But all of this for an outing? And for a strawberry cake as well?

Erza was calling Bull on this. No way this was Natsu's own idea. ' _But who could have implanted such a concept in his mind?'_

While pondering this on her way there, the moment she felt her head hit a wall was when she brought herself back to reality and realized that she had already made it to her room. Rubbing her temple in annoyance at her own incompetence, Erza took her keys from her skirt pocket and stuck them in the lock. It glowed shortly before Erza turned the knob and opened the door, relishing in the cool Air conditioning.

Her first target was the shower, wanting to wash off all the sand and salt water she got in uncomfortable places, ie her breasts. Stripping smoothly out of her clothing, Erza turned on the hot water with the faucet handle and smiled at the sound of running water. She obviously didn't know how long Natsu wanted her to take, but she blamed his inattentiveness on him and used that as an excuse to take a longer-than-usual bath.

By the time Erza finished, the clock read 7:50 and she knew time was running. Quickly, Erza dried her body and used her toiletries to freshen up, adding new perfume and lip gloss as well. Erza brushed her hair and left it hanging towards the ground and **Requiping** a dark purple blouse with black tights and yellow flat heels.

When walking out of the apartment, Erza abruptly stopped standing in the doorway. One question popped into her mind that made her wonder: "Why exactly am I getting so preppy for an outing?"

This thought haunted Erza on her way to the designated place Natsu said to meet. Interestingly enough, he chose the family-owned bar around the corner. Odd place to get a cake she thought, but there's nothing to suspect of the loving Slayer.

Erza walked for only a few minutes to her destination as the sight a better dressed Natsu entered her vision. He actually had on a red button-up shirt with the collar pulled _down_ with jeans and brown shoes. Not that she expected him to go any further but Erza smiled at his attempt to get fancy. Last time, during the banquet in the King's castle, Lucy, Mira, Wendy, Levy and herself struggled to forcibly put the suit on both Natsu and Gajeel. Gajeel was purposely ripping the linen with his muscles and Natsu kept burning it off like a madman.

She walked up and greeted him at the entrance with a satisfying smile as he did the same.

"Yo! You look nice Erza!" Natsu complimented her as his grin increased in size.

"Same goes for you, Natsu. I didn't expect you to put on a button-up shirt voluntarily- ever!" Erza jokingly remarked.

"Ha ha ha, yeah, good one Erza," He said sarcastically, "Anyway, let's go inside. I have to show you this place." Natsu said excitedly, grabbing her hand and opening the door for them. Bright light entered her eyes and was greeted with a place full of laughs and a feeling of comradery, something similar to what she feels in Fairy Tail, "Isn't it great!? I heard from Roberto that this family owned place stays busy all the time because people are allowed to do anything they want here, ranging from fights and arguments to a deluxe dinner with the rich! Also, their daughter loves to bake and rumor says she makes the best pastries in town!"

Erza couldn't believe how diverse this place was; Nobles were talking to commoners, magics were being shown off, young ones were discussing with old timers- the whole works! Erza walked around with wide eyes, scanning this place of wonders with glee. Though, she was knocked out of her trance by Natsu as he dragged her to a seat.

He kindly pulled out the chair for her and sat in his own later on as she pushed herself closer to the table. After Erza got comfortable in her seat, she picked up her menu the same time as Natsu and immediately scurried through to find the dessert section. She found what she was looking for and spotted the words "strawberry shortcake" on the piece of paper and that made her leap slightly with glee. Having strawberry cake was one thing, but a shortcake!? That's gold!

Realizing she should take this opportunity to get more food, she decided to get lemon tea and a scoop of ice cream. Looking over her menu and seeing that Natsu was done ordering as well, she placed it down and stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. A blush crept to her face at the silence between them but the loud noise of the people around them helped slightly with the discomfort.

Natsu felt the awkwardness between them and immediately knew he had to break the ice.

"So, did you order anything besides the cake?"

"Ah, yes, I'm going to have some tea with ice cream." She answered shortly.

Then, another period of silence arose.

' _Come on Erza, you're not making it easy to hold a conversation! Your awkwardness with communication can really be a handicap.'_

' _I'm so stupid! Natsu's trying to give me a good time and I repay him by not trying to do the same!? Why do I always make this happen?'_

"So… what did you think of the past few days of photo shooting?" Natsu asked again, hoping this time the question's integrity will last longer.

"Oh, it's been great. I find that it's a fun way to get out of taking dangerous jobs but it's difficult to keep up with all the different requirements the director puts on you. But since this is a job, how much do you get paid?" Erza asked as well, contributing to the conversation.

"Um, usually I get about 10k jewels for each photo they publish and since Mira's a pro, she gets 50 thousand. But seeing as this is a special edition of the issue of sorcerer weekly, we'll get paid around 100 thousand jewels for each picture taken." Natsu explained thoroughly causing Erza's eyes to widen.

"100k! With the number of pictures we've taken today, that'll be over 1 milli-"

"Woah, slow your roll, Erza! It's not like they publish each and every picture they take. The producers just pick the ones they think will bank the most cash and publish those- so even if you had 100 photos about three will actually be chosen."

"Oh, I see. But regardless, that's more than some jobs we take to destroy monsters." Erza replied, still stunned at the amount of money was giving to the model mages in pictures.

"Hmpf, you got that right. Sometimes I think I should take up these jobs more often for extra cash in my account."

"Wait, you have a bank acco-"

"Excuse me! Sorry to intrude but I'm here to take your order." A young preppy female looking to be in her twenties smiled gleefully at her two customers.

"Oh, yes, of course." Erza fixed her composer and sat up straight in her chair.

"So, what will it be today?" The waitress asked, clicking her pen over her small notebook.

"I'll get a beer with an all-meat sandwich." Natsu answered slightly raising his hand.

"And I'll take your strawberry shortcake with one spoon of ice cream and lemon tea." She said politely, catching a glimpse of her name tag.

"Is that all?"

"No, that'll be it, Karen." Erza replied, receiving a bigger smile when the waitress heard he name being called.

"Be right back with your orders!" And she was off.

"So, Natsu, again with your money. You have a bank account?" Erza pressed on, slightly shocked about this new revelation on her partner's living expense.

"Oh yeah, but technically I have two. One is for savings and the other is for regular shopping and stuff." Natsu answered honestly, "My savings are in the bank and I stash my other money where no one can find it."

"Interesting…" Erza said to herself, "Furthermore, who taught you this anyway?"

"Mira and Lisanna did it on their spare time with Happy and me. I still don't understand most of what they were talking about but I get the gist of it." Natsu explained happily, ruffling his nose at the smell of food.

"It's good they thought about how to take care you. I guess Lisanna really is your wife, huh?" Erza said the last part teasingly, covering her mouth with her hand at the sight of Natsu's face. He looked down sheepishly, almost ashamed, at the little game he used to play with Lisanna when he was younger.

"Hey listen, we both were just kids. It was something to past the time." Natsu tried to defend himself but it worked fruitlessly as Erza was still laughing.

She continued to giggle at his expense until the order came with Karen holding two trays.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs.!" She said happily setting down the food in front of their respected people.

"Thank you, but we aren't-"

"Yes, thanks for bringing the food to me and my _girlfriend_. Really appreciate your hospitality; in fact, I was just going to propose to her today." Natsu smiled mischievously in victory when looking at Erza's red face as he could have sworn steam was coming out of her ears.

"Oh really!?" Karen the waitress gasped in surprise and covered her mouth gaping with her hand. Then, suddenly grabbing an empty chair from nearby, she stood on top of it and cupped her hands around her mouth, "Attention, everyone! I have an announcement to make!"

And the audience settled down.

"This gentleman right here is going to propose to his date!" She pointed down towards Natsu and Erza and the whole bar was filled with clapping and phrases of admiration.

"No no, really, I'm not his girlfriend, we're just good friends!" Erza raised her hands to dismiss the accusation but it proved to be futile.

"Well, they do say that marriage should only be done with your best friend if ya know what I'm saying! Hahahaha!" And with that comment from a random man erupted laughter from the tables all around. Even Natsu was giggling.

Wait a second…

' _That sly bastard. He did this purposely!'_ Erza thought angrily, thinking of every conceivable way to bring pain to Natsu's body after this. As the thoughts raced through her mind, one, in particular, stood out to her but although it was risky anything would do right now.

"So, if you're really going to propose to me, why not do it in front of everyone right now." Erza said smugly, sparkly slightly at the drainage of color in Natsu's face.

"Uh, you say what now?" Natsu managed to blurt out through all the confusion.

"Well, you're really serious about this commitment then right now is the perfect opportunity." After seeing Natsu's eyes scurry his surroundings, she knew she won this game of chicken. There's no way in hell Natsu has the balls to do it, and besides, he doesn't have a ring to propose with so it was checkmate; game set and match.

Or so she thought.

The reason why Natsu looked so panicked was that he thought he lost something in his pocket, but lucky for him it turned up in his little pocket on his shirt. He sighed in relief after he slowly pulled out the item form his shirt which confused Erza, to say the least. He managed to conceal the small item and clutched it hard in his hands as he stood up abruptly and walked in front of Erza with a look that slightly worried her.

Did he have something up his sleeve? If so, then her whole plan would fall apart!

Then, just as quickly, Natsu bent down one knee and gazed his mischievous eyes towards Erza's as a blushed appeared on her face. He brought his hand up to her face and opened it to show a beautifully engraved silver ring with her Heart Kreuz symbol in the middle, causing her to gasp and look wide-eyed at the object.

"No way…" She mumbled.

"Erza Scarlet… will you be my bride?" Natsu asked soulfully, his glistening orbs striking deep into Erza's heart.

"I-I-I don't e-even-n know what to say…" Erza said in pure shock, but that's when she saw it, the look he was giving her was the same one he gives, Lucy, the same one he gives Mira, and Cana, and Kinana, and basically, every girl that he needs a favor with.

His puppy dog eyes.

' _Haha, this is it! She thought she was gonna win but it's a good thing I bought this ring like Roberto said. Now it's game over.'_ Natsu thought naughtily. But unbeknownst to him, his partner's rage was building to a boiling point as she already saw through his plans.

"You cheeky bastard." Erza said menacingly, her head lowered and bangs causing her eyes to be shadowed.

"I don't understa-UMPH!" Before he could finish, Erza swiftly and easily bitch-slapped him through the bar and out the window crashing into the middle of the street. She looked around at the damage then stared apathetically towards Karen.

"Here, take this money for the damages and I apologize for my rash behavior. I would appreciate it if I was still allowed to finish my food here." Erza stated, **Requiping** an overly-sized bag of jewels and handing it over to the waitress.

"Uh, yeah, sure…" Karen said flabbergasted at the situation, sheepishly taking the money.

"Thank you." Erza went back to finishing her food and ignored all the stares she got from the others.

"So… is that a no on the marriage?" Some random guy asked.

No one heard from him since…

Just kidding, he just passed out because of a death stare from Erza.

 **After Erza Finished her Dinner:**

Things were never the same when Natsu was seen flying through the walls into the street, causing the whole atmosphere of the place to be stale and stiff as no one dared to talk or comment about what just happened, with an example being the man who passed out from just being looked at. Continuing to sit undisturbed, Erza managed to finish her dish peacefully with practically nothing left on her plate, turning to Karen who weirdly stayed in her place and offered her the dirty plates.

"Give my praises to the chef, he did a wonderful job." Erza complimented with a satisfied smile, as Karen hastily took the plates and walked away.

"Will do!" She answered shakily walking towards the back of the restaurant, "And you don't have to pay, this will be enough." Pointing to the pile of jewels that were left, her eyes kept trailing back and forth to the exit, trying to signal Erza to leave, and luckily she picked up the subtle hint and began to exit the damaged place and pick up Natsu from the streets. As Erza walked through the rubble and out the broken door, she immediately saw where Natsu was stuck laying on the ground- or rather _in_ the ground. His head was lodged in the loose sand ground with his butt stuck in the air. Repeated he tried to pry himself from the floor but seemed he didn't have enough leverage to do so, and to her own dismay, Erza had to pull him out herself.

While Erza was walking towards the inconvenienced man, the people who were strolling through the streets awkwardly walked around the headless limp body but still couldn't stop themselves from looking. The spectacle was too weird and unusual not to. Once Erza got Natsu out of his inconvenient predicament, she helped dust his clothing off stared awkwardly towards the man.

"So, don't you have something to say?" Natsu asked Erza, obviously in a grumpy mood. He just bought these new clothes and they were something he actually liked!

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean." Erza turned her head slightly to avoid the gaze from Natsu, knowing she was in the wrong. But, really though, we all know she won't admit it, and so did Natsu.

"Aw geez, Erza. Whatever, let's go." Natsu sighed and then grinned brightly as he dragged her across the street.

"Where are we going this time?" She asked picking up the pace to keep up with his fast walking.

"Well, our night won't be finished just because of a little skirmish between us. Come on! There's still some more things you want to check out right?" Natsu asked letting go of Erza's hand and turned to face directly at her.

"Of course there are! I've wanted to explore this place the minute we got here." Erza brightened up and began we walk with Natsu to their new destination as a whole night of fun awaited them.

Erza knew that tonight was going to be great with Natsu.

All the while, flashes could be seen appearing behind a bush with the lens stuck out slightly.

What Erza didn't know was that tonight would be a turning point in her relationship with Natsu.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! This chapter, to say the least, was really fun to write, despite me having to do it three times. Yup, you read that right, I did it three times! At first, when I used Word, I forgot to save my whole session and I lost it all. That why I couldn't update in December. Then I decided to write on here Fanfiction, but the website crashes days before I was going to post it so I gave up after a while and then I remembered my good friend Google Docs(Shameless advertisement. Please Sponsor me Google!). SO here it is! Now you can comment on how bad it was and how it should take down my profile, HAHAHAHaHaHahahahaaa... Yeah please don't do that...**

 **Anywho, list of things I've done. I saw Black Panther(despite all the racial politics going on, this movie was badass regardless), My 1st-semester end and I did worse in my art class... somehow- but I got better in language art, I read this book called Fahrenheit 451 which was pretty dope and I'm about to get ready to go on vaca with my fam and get ready for my sister's(who's actually my cousin but we too close for that) sweet sixteen as her birthday is literally 5 days from mine so I'm kinda overshadowed right. But that doesn't matter, tell me what you guys have been up to and one last thing, thanks so much for the reviews telling me to keep on going. That encouragement really help.**

 **Anyway,** **Review/Pm, follow, favorite or do whatever!**

 **-Yo man Tunice!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well would you look at that. A chapter. Decently written, Barely proof-read chapter. But still, a chapter. Hold up, let's see how long it's been since my last update. Uh, one, two, three, four-freaking ever months my peeps! Hot damn this sucks. I really like writing this but I relate to chapters as I do with fish: barely catching any despite how long I stay at it, plus in the end isn't that good of a catch. Anyhow, now that I'm done baching myself, most of you guys are gone, I can see that and I know it's my fault but it's fine. This story, in particular, isn't for followers but just to put an idea out into the open if someone happens to abridge it. Let me know if that happens. It'll probably be called "Natsu and Erza's Sorceror Weekly Failure".**

* * *

 **What'll Happen Tomorrow**

"Ohh, let's go on that ride."

GULP!

"Seriously, are you trying to kill me!?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just trying to have a good time- something that _you_ promised me."

"Come on, but that? It literally says 'Super Duper Hurler Swirler Roller Coaster'. Even the name twists my stomach and my tongue."

"Stop being a baby. It's just the name of the ride. Most of the time they don't even live up to it."

"No, just no. Not this time Erza. I'm putting my foot down on this one."

"Fine Natsu, if you go to this _last_ one, I'll fight you when we get back to Fairy Tail _and_ we can get some BBQ tomorrow. Deal?"

On this glorious night of neon lights and bright laughter, two figures walked through the amusement park going on virtually every ride they had, ranging from roller coasters to teacups, the pair were having fun all throughout the night in the park...

Or rather, one person was having fun. The other male counterpart, however, dreaded the entire night of going on 'deathly metal traps' and 'riding tools made for torture'. All that could be said about this young man is that he had a severe case of motion sickness, which doesn't help the fact that he lost all the food he ate before in the day and then some.

Right now, the couple of male and female stopped at the most recognizable ride in all of Fiore: The Super Duper Hurler Swirler Roller Coaster. This ride is said to have come to a man in his dreams by the god of all things fun and holy, and once he got to the construction of the coaster nothing stopped him from finishing it, even the ghastly reality of… Budget cuts.

It is rumored that the ride was so goddamn awesome, the famed Akane resort was built next to this amusement park to gain its publicity.

"The Hurler Swirler stands at a whopping 200 meters and goes 170 mph. The ride lasts for 2 miles and has so many loops and inversions that it can be considered deadly to anybody who has the following: Pregnancy, Present Physical illness, Any Type of Disabilities, Motion sickness-" Just as Erza was reading off the brochure of the ride that someone was handing out, Natsu took the initiative to burn the piece of paper.

"After hearing that, my answer is a definite no Erza." Natsu began to walk away from the line they were currently standing in before she roughly grabbed his shoulder and swung him back to his spot.

"Too late to chicken out now, Natsu. You already agreed to our terms before so leaving now means a beating from me and missing out on the fight at Fairy Tail." Erza explained, watching Natsu stoically get up from the ground he was tossed on. Briefly dusting himself off, he looked at Erza then suddenly started to walk away again, "Are you serious Natsu!?"

Turning his head to the side to wave to his friend Natsu began to speak, "Sorry Erza, but my life is more important than some adrenaline rush!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You put your life on the line all the time!" Erza yelled back.

"I only do that because I know I'm gonna come back alive. This shit might actually kill me!" Natsu came to a complete stop and rigorously pointed to the ride he was about to board. He childishly pouted when looking towards Erza, and unbeknownst to the both of them, people were watching their quarrel.

"Yeah, well, I was just hoping to spend some more time with you! I thought we both were having fun!"

"Oh Damn. What's he gonna do now?" Some unimportant gossiper said aloud. Despite their worthlessness, the person was right.

What was Natsu going to do?

"...Erza, I… I'm sorry about how I acted. If you just would've told me-"

"No, it's okay. I should have known I was being selfish. We can go back to the apartment if you want…"

"Holy shit, they live together!"

"I don't think that's gonna happen now. After hearing what you said, I realized something." Natsu began his route towards Erza and his frown had turned upside down.

"And what's that?" She asked rhetorically, waiting for his answer.

"Well, it's pretty stupid but, I realized that if I can somehow make you happy, no matter what happens to me, I'm sure to be just as happy." Natsu's smile grew showing his sharp canines while Erza couldn't contain her happiness either.

"Oh Natsu, thank you for tonight. I'm going to remember it forever." Erza had her eyelids halfway open while Natsu wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him. His regular smile was placed with an uncharacteristic sly grin as he brought his forehead towards her own, both gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.

"If that's the case, I'm sure you won't forget this either." Slowly, Natsu's lips were inching toward her's while calling her name.

"Erza."

"Yes, Natsu, do it."

"Erza."

"Mmh, make me yours."

More Loudly this time, "Erza!"

"Almost there…"

"Damn it Erza, this was your idea!"

Then she stopped, "But I thought it was mutual? Don't we _both_ want this?"

Erza took a step back and stared at the Natsu she was about to kiss. Something wasn't right either. He still had that sly, sexy attitude around him, so why did he sound so angry? Then, before she knew it, the world around her was being torn apart ruggedly as reality slapped her in the face.

This wasn't real. Once again, Erza Scarlet was daydreaming. Her rude awakening caused her to abruptly shoot her eyes open and scan the surroundings for anything familiar. Luckily the real Natsu was the one next to her trying to wake her from the semi-sleeping state she was in.

"Hey, earthland to Erza, it's time to board. We're in the front of the line." Natsu called out, pointing toward the empty seat that was waiting for them, "Remember, this was your idea."

' _Okay, at least that memory is still correct. I just can't believe I dozed off like that, in front of a crowd no less. This is despicable. I can't do such indecent things like this; especially thinking of such things either.'_

Still, in her daze, Erza blindly let Natsu pull her towards their cart while he was mumbling on about getting his side of the debt paid in full. Erza, however, still couldn't believe she would think about Natsu- her partner- in a way that wasn't platonic. Sure he was important to her… but _that_ important? No, it's only a symptom of being out all night and obviously, she needed her beauty sleep.

After getting grips of what transpired in her mind, Erza found herself seated the strapped tightly to her cart alongside Natsu who, despite putting on a brave face, looked like he was going to cry- and barf- a river. Probably an ocean too. Whichever came first of course.

"It's going to be alright, Natsu. If anything happens, just know I'm here to save your fiery butt." Erza held out her hand towards Natsu's who looked at her skeptically.

"Yeah, real funny Erza." Even though he felt betrayed by his manliness and pride, Natsu couldn't help but feel comfortable knowing he was going to be together with her. It was similar to how safe and warm he felt cuddling with his father, Igneel… yet, somehow was different.

"And I also wanted to tell you, thanks for taking me out. Despite the rough beginning, tonight actually turned out to be pretty nice." Watching Erza smile, right then right there, Natsu experienced something he had never felt before. An emotion unbeknownst to him for years hiding through puberty and adolescence all at once. It was… uncertainty.

Going past this anticlimactic revelation, Natsu was the kind of guy who never doubted anything in his life- his actions, thoughts, words, and relationships with the people around were all something he knew to be true; something he could always lie back on for comfort or support. But now, holding Erza's hand made him question what exactly was going on between them at this moment. Sure, she was sometimes comforting in certain situations, but this soft and plushy? Metaphorically of course.

Confusion racked his brain for a while, but unconsciously, Natsu smiled right back at her, "Yeah, and I'm glad you're not punching every time I do something stupid."

"Well, surprisingly, you haven't done anything stupid for a while and I'm impressed. Plus I thought I could give you a break after filling your mouth up with sand a while back." Erza quipped right back causing Natsu to grimace.

"Please don't remind me of that. Sand tastes disgusting and it's going to take days to get that flavor out of my mouth." Natsu joked, acting silly and sticking out his tongue.

"All passengers, make sure you are seated correctly in your seats. Keep your limbs and body parts inside the ride at all times. Seriously. We don't want lawsuits from some spoiled rich kid coming at us because your shoulder got dislocated. I'm talking to you, Jimmy." The conductor of the ride gazed briefly towards the presumed Jimmy person until he continued half-heartedly with the instructions, "Anyway, enjoy the ride and keep in mind pictures will be taken to commemorate all those wimps who decided to join. And without further adieu, time for the countdown."

"Hey Erza, you think I'm one of those wimps? 'Cause I feel pretty wimpy about this in general." Natsu hastily asked, squeezing her hand tightly.

"No I don't think you're a wimp Natsu, but I do think you'll stop the blood flow to my hand if you keep holding it like that." Erza remarked while Natsu blinked in realization and loosened his grip on left hand.

"Okay," The conductor said, "Five, Four, Three- Blast Off!" He slammed his hand on the big red button in the control booth, smiling mischievously at his actions as the coaster zoomed off at unimaginable speeds.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN COUNTDOWN TO ZERO!" Natsu screamed frightfully as his tears could be seen leaving a trail of where he was.

"Hehe, this is the highlight of my day." The conductor whispered to himself while turning the knob labeled 'ACCELERATE' all the way up to ten.

 **A Few Minutes After Natsu's Panic Attack:**

"I-I can't I ca-can't can't BREATHE!"

"It's okay Natsu, I'm here. Remember, in and out, that's right, in then out."

"I… I-I think it's getting better now..."

Oh, poor Natsu. Mortifying experiences tend to do that to a person.

Anyway, as expected, the roller coaster was one hell of a contraption. Erza surely had her fill with fun and excitement from the adrenaline-inducing ride, with all the loops and whorls and twists and turns- practically a thrill seekers dream roller coaster. However, we all know with Natsu's motion sickness, all the adjectives used to describe Erza's time should all be replaced with their antonyms but doing that would be too long so overall, Natsu went through Hell. Through and through.

In fact, Erza was pretty sure she saw him pass out a couple of times only to thrust right back into the harsh reality he was experiencing. What a poor, poor man. Erza, only after witnessing what the coaster did to her companion, did she start to feel any sort of guilty and or regret of the place she put him in. Obviously, it was her fault Natsu was hyperventilating even after the ride was over minutes before, but with her stubbornness, presenting such an idea would be like sliding paper through two mounds of rock: unnecessarily difficult.

So, being as it is, Natsu would have to live on knowing she would never take responsibility for this. But right now, it was alright; at least his lungs were finally taking in oxygen.

"Nothing- and I mean nothing- can ever be as scary as that metallic structure of DOOM!" Natsu exaggerated, huffing and puffing and still having trouble breathing.

"So, does that mean you can ride the train now? Or any other vehicle?" Erza asked, walking beside him to make sure he doesn't pass out.

"What? Hell no. Fuck those things."

"Watch your language young man!" A swift batting of the head quickly shut him up afterward. Well, shut up the curses anyway.

"What the heck! We're practically the same age! One year does not make a difference in authority." Natsu argued back. See, he didn't mind the beating -his head was practically iron at this point(literally and figuratively)- it was the fact Erza called him a "young man" as if he couldn't take care of his damn self. Of course, he could take care of himself.

"It does when it applies to me." Erza shot back quickly, making Natsu even more furious.

"Gah! Erza, you're not better than me! I'll prove once and for all once we have that fight you owe me!" Natsu's pointed finger was so close to her face, it was practically squishing her cheeks. Okay, now it was squishing her cheeks.

Wiping his hand away from her, she thought, ' _Oh no, I totally forgot about that deal I made with him. I believe there was another part as well. Something to do with..._ '

"And when we get done with our photos tomorrow, I'm gonna empty out all your deep pockets!" Natsu threatened.

' _Oh that's what it was, thank you Natsu. Oh, wait… did he say..._ ' Realization hit her hard, and not only that but sweat was slowly forming around her brow. Natsu just threaten to make her bankrupted with food only! The scary thing is that it's actually possible! Sure, she's pretty stinking rich and can buy a whole bunch of property, but property means jack to Natsu's all-consuming stomach.

"I'm sure you don't have to take it that far. I was just correcting your manner of speech."

"Screw your corrections! I wanna Fight and I want food and I'm gonna make sure you give both of them to me! It's not even about what you said anymore, it's about revenge for making me go on that railroad to death's door." Natsu fumed comically. At this point, everything he was saying was to get under Erza's skin. I mean, he may self-centered at times but he's not an idiot. He knows she never does anything for the heck of it. Overall the years he's spent with her, he knows all of her main motivations in life, mostly due to their shocking simplicity. One of them just so happens to be strawberry based pastries, but the other is for her friends, and all the beatings she gives is to bring out the best in people, despite herself not seeing the flaws she has. Ironic.

"Listen, how about we both go back to the apartment and sleep off what's happened today. I'm sure it's all the anxiety that's making you act like this will wash away after a good bath with me, huh?" Erza suggested, hoping her negotiations went off without him seeing her own anxiousness. Too late Erza.

"I'm fine with that. Once I get a good fire going, I could chow down on some late night flames before bed." Shrugging his shoulders with a surprisingly indifferent face, even after everything, Natsu saw no qualms with no ending schedule. This guy really needs to get his priorities in check.

It was that statement which led to a peaceful walk through the colorfully lit town. No other words were said during their time in the city as both mages joyfully gazed their surrounds. The trip back to their luxurious room was fairly long due to the amusement park being on the other side of town, but time seemed no different to them than breathing at that point.

Through the entrance, passed the desk, up the elevator and down the hall, Natsu and Erza made it to their shared room.

"We should get this done quickly. I didn't think I would be as tired as I am." Yawning after his sentence, Natsu turned to Erza to open the locked door.

Whiling Taking out her key, Erza responded, "Yes, going to sleep as fast as possible would be beneficial. I heard that we would be going to a new site for our photos so I would like to wake up early so we won't be late if we get lost."

"Hmm, makes sense. I just hope Jason won't have something questionable planned. It is the second to last day." Hearing a click by the door, Natsu presumed it was open and walked in before Erza. Realizing she wasn't following, Natsu turned back with a questioning look, "Hey Erza, is something up? If it's about before, I was only joking about-"

"No Natsu, not that, it's just… what you said now. Tomorrow is the second to last day and I've actually been having fun experiencing something unique as this and with you no less. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, thank you for giving me a good time, not only tonight but these past few days. It's… it's really made me happy."

And that was it, the one thing he needs to make him feel accomplished. That smile, that wonderful smile which brought him his own joy just looking at it, and even more when it's directing towards him. All the wacky things he's been through has led up to this satisfying moment, and unknown to Erza, her graceful expression was contagious to him. No longer did he feel any confusion for what he felt towards Erza, it was clear as day now. But, could he say it?

Laughing a bit under his breath, Natsu Spoke with volume, "Well, I think it's pretty stupid but, I realized that if I can somehow make you happy, no matter what happens to me, it'll all be worth it in the end. You're a really good friend, Erza." His grin went so wide his eyes were closed shut from the tightness in his face and with no shame, bore his teeth for all to see. On that final note, Erza strode into the hall right behind her trustworthy DragonSlayer. Her adventurous week may be ending, but her life with Natsu was just beginning.

Today really was worth the wait. And Who's to say tomorrow won't be better...


	7. Chapter 7

**Eureka For Today!**

Ah, sleep.

One of the most important functions in the human body. A well-rested mind means a well-rested body, and a well-rested body means a wholesome soul. All of this was the perfect formula for a moderately good day, and Natsu was looking quite forward to such a time. His eyes shot open from his peaceful slumber, first registering a blurry field of tannish paint on the ceiling. Fluttering his eyelids to adjust his vision, Natsu outstretched his arms yawned a big yawn. Quickly swinging his feet off the edge of the bed, he sat alongside his part of the scrunched up covers before looking down at his unconscious partner. Seeing her back to him, he grunted and faced forward stabilizing his feet as he got off the bed.

Walking through the hallway to the bathroom door, Natsu yawned once again taking wobbly steps, still shaking off the drowsiness that swamped him. His journey was short along with his attention as the pink-haired man walked right into the door which led to his destination. Stumbling back a bit, Natsu grumbled under his breath while handling the doorknob and lightly swinging the door open, making fat steps as he treaded on the white tile floor.

The water ran, the steam rose and the curtains drew, however, still with the door wide open. Although the hotel room was spacious, with how long Natsu took his shower, the vapor had time to progress throughout their quarters and slightly raise the temperature. Walking out the bathroom relieved of his morning duties, Natsu sighed contently wrapping the towel around his slim waist. This time more awake, he walked briskly through the hallway and headed for the room he shared with Erza.

While entering, he glanced at the alarm overhead their nightstand and grimaced. With a light curse, Natsu walked slowly towards the redhead in hopes not to wake her up prematurely. As he approached the other side of the bed, Natsu took in a deep breath and steeled his resolve. Never before has he woken up before Erza so encountering this predicament was unexpected. Placing his now moisturized hand against her covered shoulder he began the process of waking up a sleeping Erza.

His light taps and quick shakes were of no effect to the sleeping beauty as he knew something needed to be done. If Natsu was late to a photo shoot, he wouldn't hear the end of the word "uncool" flying through the air and damaging his sensitive ears. And then there was Erza who might just be completely disappointed and ignore him the entire day(as she's done before) or have her complete attention on him only and beat him for any mistakes he made throughout the day(which she's also done before).

Checking the clock again, he knew any more time wasted increased the possibility of either of these two events occurring, so, Natsu, being the "go big or go home" type of guy followed suit with his immediate plan. Grabbing hold of the edge of the sheets, he heaved them off to the side creating a gust of wind that blew in her face, whipping her exposed hair all over. Then, seeing slight motion, Natsu started his final step which always worked with anyone that fell victim to it. Clutching his fingers around her feet he quickly tugged at her legs causing her whole body to jerk up with her arms flailing. This sudden motion incited a yelp from the frightened Erza as she sat up immediately, eyes wandering around the room until it fell on one person.

"Natsu..." She said in a bored tone, her laggy eyes staying fixed on his figure.

Raising his hand to greet her, Natsu smiled brightly, "Hey, what's up Erz-OOFF!" With unprecedented speed, Natsu somehow ended up crashing hard against the wall creating a small dent. Due to the laws of physics, Natsu's towel flew off his body and fell to the ground next to Erza as she stared apathetically at his naked form.

Erza's bitch slap has always been formidable, however, this one presented a whole new level of annoyance, leaving the pink haired man in a daze. With no common sense approaching her at this moment, the still sleepy woman walked away and headed for the bathroom to begin her own morning routine while neglecting the vulnerable state Natsu was in.

"What the hell…"

 **Outside with Natsu and Erza:**

The two companions left shortly after the "small" incident that came with waking Erza up, generating Natsu's now terrible mood. His face was engraved with a small frown and slightly furrowed brows which had him emit an aura of sensitivity and irritation. It seemed as if anything could set the man off, so anyone who saw the couple instantly avoided the general presence of Natsu.

Erza, after gaining full consciousness, apologized repeatedly once her shower was taken and morning duties were taken care of. She knew she was in the wrong but her stubborn attitude created a stalemate between the two mages which left them on shaky ground. Erza thought that once the day had actually begun, Natsu's sour mood would subside and they both would have a wondrous day, however, her selfishness wasn't going to succeed this time.

Natsu wanted- no, scratch that- needed Erza to apologize to him. I mean, yes, she's already done it, but he wanted it to be sincere! There was no way he deserved to get bitch slapped, of all the things, across their bedroom! A regular punch to the gut would have been enough, but no, she just had to hit him with her ever shaming backhand slaps.

For the ignorant saps who are unaware of Erza's notorious slaps, just know that getting hit by one meant temporary damnation in her book, although, this has only been the case with messing with her deserts; no one has ever experienced waking her up so this was new territory. But in this case, she also happened to barely be conscious when it happened so it's highly debatable. Despite them walking side by side, Erza and Natsu couldn't be any more distant. Oh, how childish.

They still had time to kill before the photo shoot so breakfast was a given. With silent looks of an agreement, the mages walked in the same restaurant that seemed the closest to themselves and their later destination. The franchise was named "Shell Shocked" due to their main dishes composing of seafood. The moment the doors opened, Natsu's nose was bombarded with smells of raw fish and fresh vegetables.

The intoxicating smell of salmon and trout always brought him toward starvation; maybe it's because Happy's rubbed off on him or because he grew up hunting animals with Igneel, but fresh smelling fish made him hungrier by the second. A small smile graced his face along with a deep growl from his stomach. Erza turned and gazed at his stature- he suddenly seemed so confident and proud just by walking into the restaurant. She thought, maybe, Natsu forgot the incident from this morning and was distracted by the food. With good graces, Erza applauded herself for not giving in to her guilt and shame(and let's not forget embarrassment) because of his former irritated presence.

Adding a small smile to her features as well, she walked to the bartender(it's an open restaurant) with Natsu in tow prepared to order a hearty breakfast. Getting closer to their seats, she began not only to smell to fish but strong scents of alcohol too. Wrinkling her nose, Erza sat down on a stool with Natsu next to her as he called for someone to attend. Behind the counter, a man of average height walked to their spot on the bar table and slapped down a plastic covered menu.

"Hello, ma'am, sir. How may I help you this morning?" The waiter spoke politely. He leaned in slightly to hear more clearly given to how the place is so loud.

Clearing her throat, Erza responded, "Can you start me off with some strawberry lemonade. What about you Natsu?"

The said man looked around for a while and finally answered, "I'll just have water if that's fine, a lot of it too."

"Coming right up; I'll be back in a few." He went off, going to fulfill his duties as he left Natsu and Erza alone.

Unfortunately for her, Erza was wrong about her previous observation. Each time she attempted to start a small conversation, he always shrugged her off with one worded answers or replies. When she said the establishment was nice, he said "yeah". When she asked what he was gonna order, he said "something". Then when she finally asked if he was still mad, he just replied with "maybe". His head never left the folds of the food menu, only looking up when the waiter checked on them.

Their drinks were brought not too long ago and now they were ready to order. The waiter, as they have identified as David, walked up to them with a notepad and pen in hand ready to take the couples' orders. With a smile, he turned his attention to Erza first and nodded. She responded similarly and gently placed the menu down, "I'll have some pink salmon and the butter sauce that goes with it. I'll also take some of the biscuits too- oh, and add honey and strawberry jam on the side."

As he scribbled the order, David fixed his attention on Natsu expecting an immediate answer, but the pink haired man seemed to disregard his presence entirely. Natsu continued to stare at the menu as if he was contemplating something. His action didn't cease until Erza nudged him in the shoulder, gaining his attention. Blinking his eyes repeatedly, Natsu realized the strange position he was in and coughed in his hand, "Oh shoot."

"Are you ready to order, sir?"

"Uh, yeah, I am. I want everything on this page." As he turned the sheet around to the waiter, both David and Erza's eyes expanded at what he said. For him, the mere act of ordering a whole page of food is ludicrous. He knew they would be able to afford it, seeing their guild marks on the exposed parts of their body, but never would he acknowledge anyone eating so much. As for Erza, she wasn't shocked so much about the amount of food, but the total cost of it. In this type of restaurant, near the sea and in an expensive area, they would overprice everything, especially fish products. There's no way Natsu brought that much money with him on this trip, her knowing he cared very little about it.

"Are you sure sir? I mean, you do know what you're asking for, right? Oh, are you planning on giving it around for charity?" David asked unsurely.

"Hmm, nothing like that, I'm just gonna eat it all. And I'm not paying either, she is." Natsu pointed to his right with his thumb while Erza whipped her head around so fast the waiter almost got hit by scarlet whips.

"You must be mad!" Erza yelled slightly, banging her metal-clad fist on the counter. Natsu shrugged his shoulders and jugged down a few gulps of his drink. As the cup was put down, a shit-eating grin emerged across his face with his canine teeth shining a bit.

"Payback time." And that's when it dawned on her. Natsu wanted Erza to feel some type of grief after getting briefly shamed back in their room. One way to do this is to completely waste her entertainment funds in one swoop. The reason being, the same fund is what she used to buy sweets on her downtime.

"You diabolical fiend! How dare you!? You said I would buy you barbeque, not freaking fish! This shit is expensive!" Erza was losing her cool and Natsu loved it. He deviously tapped his fingers rhythmically on the counter as his face filled with air trying to contain the build-up of laughter.

"Ha, well I changed my mind, see. And you have no choice; I don't think I'd be good cred if I told people the chivalrous Erza broke a promise." David just stood there baffled, bamboozled, dumbfounded, flabbergasted beyond belief. What he was witnessing he wanted no part in, but inevitably it would come.

' _Damn you, Natsu. All of this for what!?_ ' Erza thought enraged, tightly clutching her fist while glaring holes into his body. She didn't understand why he would do such a thing? What happened in their hotel room was an accident! It was their business alone and no one had to know! So why, why would he do something so childish? This was her precious strawberry cake money he was wasting! "Listen, Natsu, I'm sincerely sorry for what I did back in our room. You know it was an accident and I didn't willingly do it- I was half asleep for goodness sake. Please, I _implore_ you, don't do this."

"Too late now Erza, but I am glad you finally apologized to me correctly. Now my heart is full, and soon my stomach will be too!" Drool dripped down his mouth as he turned his attention toward David, "Hurry man, get the food!"

David looked nervous, so nervous, in fact, he was trembling. Unbeknownst to either of the mages, they were letting out a sinister amount of magic: one outraged, the other vindictive. Sweat sheened his face with the color being drained as well. Conflict entered his mind while he slowly stepped back into the kitchen. His progress was stopped when Erza fixed her attention onto him.

"You better not do it. Cancel the order and you won't have to suffer." Her demonic voice(and aura) froze the man stiff until a heated presence entered the fray and burned his will to crisp.

"If you don't go, I'll give this place a bad review and put your name on it. I'm sure your boss wouldn't be happy about that." And that's when he broke.

"THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!" David sprinted into the kitchen to the shock of Erza and to the delight of Natsu.

"Haha, I win!"

"Shut up you bastard."

 **10 A.M. Photo Shoot Building:**

Over an hour has passed since the incident at the seafood restaurant and things couldn't get any better. Oh, hold on... sorry, I forgot to add context. Hmm, let me restate this: Over an hour has passed since the bizarre happenings in Shell Shocked seafood Bar and the strange tension has finally cleared between the two mages… Okay, that's not any better. Let's start relatively close to what happened afterward.

A multitude of chefs and waiters had to leave their posts in order to properly serve all the food the pink haired man had ordered- the majority of people on the counter were moved to different seats so space could be utilized properly. Erza, of course, looked disapprovingly toward the massive amount of seafood coming their way as she practically visualized all the cake she could have ordered being thrown in the trash. Feeling satisfied at his very prestige victory, Natsu scooted closer to her and gently rubbed her shoulder, consoling the downcasted knight. Along with the food, he offered to pay for a strawberry milkshake he saw on the menu before they leave the restaurant.

Erza's eyes widen with childlike wonder, gazing at Natsu with cautious joy. Eventually, she composed herself and furrowed her brow in suspicion. He replied by calling David over and handed the trembling man a plastic card he pulled from the interior pockets within his jacket. With a quick glimpse, Erza recognized that as the Fairy Tail discount debit card, no less, with a platinum membership. Questions were asked and Natsu simply answered, Lissanna.

Since then, the duo was able to hold an engrossing conversation while Natsu devoured all the food that entered arms reach. When the breakFeast was over, Natsu, as promised, brought Erza her milkshake and she giddily accepted it, slamming his head into her breastplate out of love. Despite the brief pain, Natsu smiled brightly and wrapped his arms around her shoulder as they walked to their next point of importance: the Photo Shoot Building. And that's where we are now. Huh, I think I've done a decent job. Their relationship is very... construed.

Anyway, the building was moderately huge. It was smaller than your average opera theatre but large enough to hold a small concert. They had the instructions from one of the security guards to enter through the back door in order to reach Jason. The trip was short and the entrance was easily found, but as they entered, their jaws almost dropped at the sight before them.

Props, props everywhere.

What they've reached was one of the backstage storages for -you guessed it- Props! Anything you could think of was there. Clown outfit- a given. Magic Knights- dozens. Lake monster from the marshes of Tiberia- why even ask? However, the thing that really caught their attention, or rather highly disturbed them, was the exceeding amount of tight leather clothing, high boots, revealing clothes, and fashion whips along with many more.

Sweat lightly dripped from Natsu's face while he uncertainly pointed his finger toward the section labeled, "BDSM". "I hope they don't plan on having us do that shit, right?"

"Mmh, I strongly concur," Erza remarked softly as her face blended with her hair.

"Ha! That would be so uncool to do something like that!" Oh, Christ, he's here.

"Freakin' hell, he's here."

"He's not that bad Natsu." Jason strolled excitedly toward Natsu and Erza with the featheriest of scarves wrapped around his neck and a neon beanie cap that was suffocated in rainbows. His choice of clothing was pondered on but they never asked out loud, so they thought _'What the hell are you wearing?'_

"Ah! My super cool stars, Natsu and Erza!" Jason finally reached them with joy radiating from his being; he seemed much more energetic than the times before.

"Good morning Jason. What do you have for us today?" Erza shook his hand in greetings while Natsu nodded in his direction.

"So cool! Straight to grinding the gears with you, huh Erza? Come on, follow me." Jason led them through a multitude of different sections with a large variety of clothing and supplies. If they had decided to walk on their own, Erza and Natsu probably would have gotten lost in the labyrinth of closets and hallways that occupied this section. However, with Jason as their guide, they made it through without much hassle.

While he was escorting them, Natsu asked where exactly he was taking them to. Jason replied saying, "You'll see!" and made one final turn. This led them to an open space with velvet curtains partially blocking the view of the stage. Waving his hand toward the curtains, Erza first walked passed him and her eyes widened at the scenery around them. Hearing her gasp, Natsu soon followed suit and did the same. His jaw dropped and his tongue touched the ground in utter amazement.

"Why does it look so real!" Natsu screamed, both impressed and confused at the sight before him. In the far right of the stage, a dark gray and rigged sculpture stood as tall as can be, radiating a menacing aura off itself. From the design, he was able to deduce that it was a hand constructed cave, but the skills of the artisan had to be legendary in order to pull off something so realistic. Then, there was a dim golden light gleaming from the inside, however, it was soon exposed and to be a pile of golden constructs, rubies, jewels, and silver all under the fake cave.

Next, wheeling off onto the backstage was a humungous suite of armor so bold and heavy, the seven people rolling it down had to put it in a horse cart in order to get it moving. And that wasn't it either! Along with the suite was the Longsword of Longswords: a piece of metal so impressive in girth and length, it covers the vertical half of a man's full grown body. Then, the shield- Oh, the shield! How monstrously huge that thing was! The shield, if you looked closely, even had multiple layers built outside of the main body and intricate designs littering the piece of metal.

Erza stared entranced by the craftsmanship of the object while Jason laughed beside her, "I see you've taken a liking to my cool battle armor. I got from one of my super cool old clients who happened to be a cool treasurer."

"I mean, yes, the armor is magnificent, but what kind of pictures are we going to take where we would need such a thing?" Erza asked still eyeing the armor until it disappeared behind the curtains.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked! If you couldn't tell by the setup, we're gonna do a cool 'Knight vs. Dragon' theme! You can probably tell who's gonna be which."

"Will I be able to breathe Fire!" Natsu clumped his fists in anticipation, hoping to hear to answer that he longed for.

"Of course! That's what a cool Dragon would do. But don't forget we have many others to do as well."

"Hell yeah, are you ready, Erza!?" Natsu lightly punched her arm as she did the same to him.

"You know it. Let's get ready."

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. You can find Angela and Roberto down there. Take a left and head straight and you'll be in the cool prepping rooms." Jason pointed past the entrance they went through which was near the props portion of backstage. Following his instructions to the "T", the duo made it to their separate dressing rooms, albeit with some difficulty.

 **With Erza and Angela:**

Angela greeted her with a bombardment of joy as per usual while Erza smiled brightly at her energetic nature. Angela skipped over towards Erza and hugged her near the open door. Wrapping her arms around her, Erza patted her back then let go, turning around and shutting the door behind her. Angela led her to the salon part of the room where all types of hair products and brushes could be seen, laying across a counter with a huge mirror sitting on top of it.

Turning the spinny chair around to sit down, Erza allowed Angela to start fixing her hair into the desired form. She could feel slim fingers trace through her scalp as the small tugs caused Erza slight discomfort, but that pain slowly subsided into a soothing massage. During this peaceful time, Erza had time to think.

She wondered, how ironic the theme was for the photo shoot they picked. Yes, there were going to be many others, but, this one stuck out to her mainly due to all the stories and fables of heroic knights slaying dastardly Dragons. Of course, Natsu could never be evil- mischievous, definitely- but never evil. The tall tales of the never-ending cycle of Knights vs Dragons reminded her of how she reacts with Natsu. She knew they wouldn't but heads like Natsu does with Gray, but anytime there was a challenge present Natsu would immediately call out that he could definitely beat her, to which she always responded with, "That's not likely."

Erza admired how hard working Natsu was compared to others, and also acknowledged him as her equal. He may always spout on about wanting to beat her in a battle, but there were many instances where he already surpassed he, clearly. In her opinion, Natsu would have made is Dragon daddy proud- if he finds him, too. Then, there was the gossip around the guild, all orchestrated by our ever loving MiraJane.

Because she spent most of her time with her and Lucy, Erza was to update about most of the rumors floating around the guild, however, none interested her more than Natsu's. Apparently, he's an avid collector of souvenirs found over time, hoarding them in his house. Erza was slightly curious about this one in particular because that would mean he has relics of almost all the adventures they went on which she would love to see for herself.

Her train of thought as disturbed when Angela finally spoke, "So, Erza, how was your morning?"

Flinching a little at the question, she sighed and arch her back to sit upright, "I guess you could call it interesting..."

"How so?"

"Hmm, well, this morning in our bedroom, an incident happened where Natsu got really pissed afterward. Then, he threatened to waste all my cake savings on that expensive fish place called 'Shell Shocked'." Erza explained briefly, tapping her nails on the armrest.

"Oohh, that place is pretty expensive. But why would he threaten your savings?" Angela raised an eyebrow while twisting her hair into braids.

"Well, I promised to buy him barbeque the other day, but then he blackmailed me into accepting this deal," That's when Erza giggled which caught Angela's attention, "But that's not it. He then screams that he won and offered to pay the whole thing himself while buying me an extra treat. The idiot went through all of that just to get me to say sorry!"

Now they were both laughing with Angela almost losing her grip on Erza's hair. A small tear went down her eye while Angela tried to compose herself, "Are you serious? Just for an apology? That guy sure is a weirdo."

"Yeah, but he's my weirdo."

"What?"

"What?"

"Erza, I heard what you said." Angela slowly leaned in from her left side and whispered in her ear, "Tell me something would ya."

"Ah, I'd rather not..." Erza was now nervous. She didn't comprehend her words until it was too late, now she's gonna get grilled by Angela! This is the worst thing that could happen right now.

"Nope, you're going to, whether you like it or not," Angela said in a peppy tone.

"Uhg, please don't be a Mira right now, Angela. I'm not in the mood for this." Erza slightly sunk into her chair and hid her face between her hands.

"Erza~..." She dragged out each excruciating syllable, into her ear while Erza groaned loudly, "You don't happen to love… Salamander-san, do you?"

"Do you have to use the word 'love'? What about 'like', huh?" She desperately tried to deescalate the problem but to no avail. Angela was going to keep pushing on.

"Fine, do you _like_ Natsu?" Angela pressed on the word more.

"Of course, just like a friend."

"Erza."

"A brother?"

" _Erza_."

"Best… friend?"

"Erza!"

"Okay, yes, I like him, I guess! I really, really like Natsu!" Erza jumped from her seat and spun to face Angela, heaving in her breaths as her face was a furious red, "Are you happy now!?"

"Aw, come on, I just did that braid."

 **With Natsu and Roberto:**

Meanwhile, with the boys, Natsu was sitting comfortably in the black elevated chair while Roberto worked his magic on his face. He told him that makeup had to be applied in order to wear the costume, so, Roberto had to foundation Natsu's face for the red paint coming on next. Dipping his brush into his palet, he brushed across Natsu's face with gentle strokes brushing up against his nose. This action, although quick, irritated his sensitive nose as Natsu launched a rocket of a sneeze toward his makeup artist.

Sniffling roughly, Natsu apologies very quickly, "Ah man, Roberto! I'm so sorry, I didn't expect it- it just sorta happened!"

"Hmm, it's no big deal, incidents like this come and go." Roberto walked away from Natsu and headed toward the cleaning cabinet to his right. Opening the mirror door, he pulled out a cloth and some face soap and smeared it across his face slowly. While he did this, Natsu sheepishly scratched his head and apologized again. Waving it off, Roberto walked toward the sink to the far left and washed his hands next, "Anyway, moving on, what about you and that sweet girl, Erza? Have you finally been able to break through?"

With a light bulb flashing over his head, Natsu sat up excitedly, "Yes, actually! This morning was a little rocky, though, but it all came together in the end! Thanks so much for the advice."

"Ah, it's no problem, Miho. I'll always be glad to help you out." He quickly paced back to his previous spot in front of Natsu and sat down on his foldable chair, "Let's take a break for now and talk. Tell me, what does Erza mean to you, Natsu? How special is she for you to go all this way?"

Puzzled by his questions, Natsu simply replied, "Because she's my family."

Almost face palming out of pity, he sighed aloud and rubbed his temples, "Don't do this to me, boy. Dig down deep and tell me what you feel." He honestly felt bad for his kin. As a player boy, you must know your partners inside and out(literally if ya know what I'm sayin') but Natsu seemed to be denying basic feelings about her through either sheer will power or ignorance- maybe both.

"Well," Natsu put on his thinking face, "When I'm around her, Erza makes me feel… nice. Yeah, she makes me feel accomplished if I can get her to smile or laugh or have fun- something like that."

"That's great! Then you should tell her!"

"Tell her what?"

"That you love her!"

"Who? Erza?"

"Uh, yes. Who else?"

"But I don't like Erza."

"But that's what you said."

"No, I didn't. I'm tryin' to say that I like making her happy all the time and going out on missions. I also like her corny jokes and sweet tooth. There's also that cute mole she has under her-"

"Natsu, you simple man," Roberto sat up and rubbed his knees out of frustration. How could someone be so dense? How can a person with such a noble heart be so naive to love? Roberto didn't know how Natsu was able a pimp if he didn't know a thing or two about a girl's heart, or his own for that matter, "You just described being in love Natsu. Right now, you admitted to loving Erza, to an astounding extent if I may add."

….

"..." _Click_...

"Holy mother of Igneel. I think I'm in love with Erza."

I can't believe it. It actually happened today… What a momentous occasion, but what will they do with these newfound feelings? We can only hope where today may take us.


End file.
